Just One Night
by capricapra
Summary: Taste of The Forbidden Contest Entry- it won an Honourable Mention- Public Vote. Nominated for Energize WIP Most Promising Fan Fiction Award- canon. Edward desperately wants his wife's sister, Bella. The feeling's mutual. Neither want to tear their family apart, but their desire is overwhelming. They decide to have just one night together, but will it be enough? M for lang/lemons.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello everyone! **

**This was my entry to the Taste of the Forbidden Anonymous Contest and I'm delighted that it got an Honourable Mention from the Public Vote!**

**If you haven't checked out the contest entries already, there are some amazing stories and the winners definitely deserved their titles! **

**I will be continuing this as a short multi-chapter story, maybe six or seven chapters. I've split the original one-shot to make the first two chapters, just to improve readability.**

**I'll try to update quite regularly but I've got another active story that is near completion, so I can't give you a precise posting schedule, although the next chapter should be up within the next two days or so. **

**Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy it! **

**Disclaimer:**** The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**Lastly, I have to thank TwiMarti, aka Lynda, who beta'd 'Just One Night' for the contest. **

-cc-

"Excuse me?"

Edward Cullen looked up from the sales desk to see a stunning brunette in her late 20s standing in front of him. His groin tightened as he took in her huge, dark brown eyes, long, dark chestnut brown wavy tresses, creamy skin, full and pert bouncy rack, tiny waist and endlessly long legs. She was perfection wrapped in a simple, chic navy blue sundress printed with a fashionable Union Jack across the bust and Chanel sunglasses pushed into her hair.

"Err...hi." He stuttered out, before scrambling to his feet. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt such overwhelming desire. "Welcome to Green Park Music. How may I help you?" He felt his face grow hot as her deep chocolate eyes swept over his tall, broad and lean frame. He ran his hand through his floppy coppery hair nervously.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I'm lost. I'm trying to get to Mount Street," the brunette said in a soft, slightly breathy voice. "I was intending to use the sat nav app on my mobile phone, but the battery died." She smiled at him sheepishly and then bit her lip, and Edward's semi suddenly went full mast as waves of desire came over him.

"No problem." Edward gritted his teeth against the almost painful hardness and drew a map for her on a piece of scrap paper.

"Thank you so much!" the brunette exclaimed when he was done. "I'd have been wandering around for hours if it wasn't for you!" She suddenly leant forward and kissed him on the cheek.

Edward was assaulted by her scent. Strawberries, freesia, sun-cream, and some other magic. He'd never smelled anything or anyone so irresistible. He gripped the edge of the desk so hard his knuckles went white. She glanced down, and her cheeks coloured as she spotted the band of gold around his left ring finger. Her smile disappeared for a second before returning.

"You're welcome," he almost whispered as she moved away.

She grinned at him before walking towards the door, swaying her hips as she went. When she was finally gone, Edward groaned out loud and hurried to take care of his pressing problem.

Five hours and two self-induced orgasms in the staff toilets later, Edward sent his employees home and shut his musical instruments shop for the day. He had, until just over a year ago, worked in advertising and marketing, but the shop had been a dream of his since his teenage years. Following the death of his multi-millionaire parents, Elizabeth and Edward Senior, eighteen months earlier (they had died in a boating accident in Australia) he had inherited enough money to give up the soul-stealing job he hated and open the store in the heart of the luxurious central London district of Mayfair.

Edward had hired a manager so that he could work more flexibly in order to spend time with his wife, Jessica, and their daughter, Alice, who was thirteen. However, he hadn't realised that while he was working 80 hours a week in his thankless job, Jessica had been busy too. She had a full weekly programme of volunteer work, charity events, luncheons and exercise classes, none of which she was prepared to give up to spend time with him. Alice, too was busy from 7 am when she had ballet practice before school, to 7 pm, thanks to a plethora of after-school activities including ballet, contemporary dance classes and yoga. Feeling redundant, Edward threw himself back into his new business and as a result, the store was doing far better than he originally anticipated.

An hour after closing up shop, Edward arrived at his home, a townhouse in the leafy London area of Hampstead. Alice was clearly not back, for there was no cacophony of hip-hop blaring from her bedroom.

"Jess?" he called out as he made his way through the house.

"We're in the garden!" she yelled back. Edward wondered who she meant by "we." He hoped it wasn't another one of her vapid, plastic bimbo friends from her aerobics class. They had nothing interesting to say and eyed him like a piece of meat, although Jessica never looked at him that way. Not anymore. Not for years. Jessica was sat on the patio at the outdoor table with her friend, whose back was to Edward. He could only just see the top of her brunette head.

"Hey," he said as he approached.

"Hi, honey! Bella's staying for dinner. I hope you don't mind!"

"Of course not, dear."

He had forgotten until that moment that Jessica had been meeting her younger half-sister for lunch today. Isabella was the daughter of Jessica's mother, Renee, and her second husband, Charlie, and was six years Jessica's junior. When Isabella, or Bella as she had preferred to be called, was three, Renee left her second marriage like she had left her first, and moved to California, where she still lived, having married her third husband, the much younger Phil, when Jessica was 15 and Bella was nine. Charlie had moved back to his hometown of Manchester from London after his divorce from Renee, taking Bella with him, so she and Jessica had not grown up close.

Edward vaguely remembered a scrawny, awkward, dark-haired teenage girl with braces from his wedding but had been so nervous about marrying his college sweetheart and his impending fatherhood at the age of 22 that he had gotten blindingly drunk, and most of the day was a blur. A year or two later, Bella left for university in California at Berkeley, sponsored by Renee and Phil. She lived there until two months ago when the large software company she worked for in Silicon Valley as a financial analyst transferred her to London.

Over the years, Jessica had kept in touch with Bella through phone calls, emails and more recently, Skype, and when Alice was five, she had taken her out to California to meet her aunt. Edward had been working on a big ad campaign at that time and hadn't been able to go.

"Hello, Edward," a soft, hauntingly familiar voice murmured. Edward whipped round to see that the voice's owner was indeed the brunette who had possessed his mind since lunchtime.

"Hi...err...Bella." She stood up and wrapped herself around him in a hug. Edward suddenly felt like he was on fire. He was surrounded by her warmth, her luscious smell, the feel of her skin.

"It's so great to see you again, although you probably don't remember me," Bella said, a slight smirk on her face, clearly referring to their earlier encounter.

"Err, of course I do," he replied. His green eyes met her brown ones, and for a split second he was held there, frozen in her gaze.

"Edward, we've had the best day catching up! We went for lunch at Scott's, and then shopping at Liberty and Selfridges, and then I insisted Bella come back to meet you and Alice and stay for dinner." Jess chattered away excitedly, oblivious to the tension between her husband and younger sister. That wasn't unusual for her.

Jessica Stanley-Cullen was rather self-centred, having grown up the only child of a businessman who doted on her and indulged her every whim by way of compensation for the departure of her mother. She was quite pretty but had become vain under the influence of her superficial friends, and was now near-obsessed with her own beauty. Her light brown-coloured fine hair, inherited from Renee, was expensively highlighted blonde. She eschewed her natural English Rose complexion in favour of regular trips to the tanning salon. She hadn't told Edward, but she'd been having Botox and Collagen injections for years. She spent her time volunteering and doing charity events but only in order to improve her standing amongst her social circle.

"Wonderful. What are we having?"

"Oh, I just had my nails done, so I'm not cooking tonight. We're ordering Thai food."

Edward groaned internally. Jessica rarely cooked anything from scratch, and Edward hated the stream of microwave meals and take-away food she provided. He was able to cook and did so competently when he was home and had time, but this was the exception rather than the rule.

"Great," he replied in an off-handed way. Jessica did not notice, but Bella did.

-cc-

Edward may not have remembered much about his wedding day, but Bella Swan did. She had not met her older half-sister's fiancé before, so it wasn't until she was sat in the church that she laid eyes on him, the most mesmerizingly handsome man she had ever seen in her sixteen-year-old life. He had been nervous, shifting his weight from one foot to another, pulling at the neck of his shirt, running his hand through his unusual, unruly penny-coloured hair. Bella had never really felt a strong sexual attraction before, and it had taken her completely by surprise. As she checked out his lean, broad-shouldered, 6'2" body, her breath quickened, her nipples tightened and moisture pooled between her legs. She had wanted him, her sister's soon-to-be husband, and badly.

She had cried when the minister pronounced Jessica and Edward married, pretending to be happy for her sister, but really, they were tears of misery and confusion. When Alice was born five months later, Bella had deliberately chosen a time to visit when she knew Edward would be at work. Not long after that, Bella accepted her mother's offer to pay for university in California.

UC Berkeley was good for Bella. She thrived in the environment. She paid more attention to her appearance and learnt to play up her assets without going over the top. She ditched her ugly braces. She took up yoga and swimming, and her skinny body became toned and smooth. She was never shy of male attention and developed more confidence as her sexual experience grew. However, no guy she met had ever turned her on the way her sister's husband had.

When she was offered the transfer to London by her employers, she thought of Edward first before accepting it. She wanted to see if he still affected her, and the vixen in her wanted to see if she could affect him. Thanks to Google, Facebook and Jessica's chatter, Bella knew where Edward's shop was and decided to pop by on her way to meet Jessica for lunch for the first time since moving to the big city. She knew Jessica was coming from a manicure appointment, so there was no chance of running into her.

Edward clearly didn't remember her, but she was delighted when he fell over himself to help her. She saw him check out her figure, and a thrill went through her when she looked into his green eyes and saw them full of desire and want. For her. Just the sight of him, even after all those years, made her a quivering mess. She maintained her cool, calm, slightly flirtatious façade until she was out of the door, unnecessary directions in hand, but once she was round the corner she collapsed on a bench, hyperventilating.

_Damn. _She had thought. _He's even more delicious than I remember. But he's my sister's husband. What the fuck am I doing? _

-cc-

Edward was in his own personal hell. Bella was on his mind virtually all the time. One sight of her dressed demurely turned him on far more than Jessica ever had, even naked. Bella was the star of all of his fantasies, and he found himself jerking off more often than he had as a horny teenager. He imagined the feel of her soft pink lips against his, on his jaw, at his ear. He imagined her delicate hands running up his chest, round his neck and tugging at his hair. Just that was enough to get him off, but if he imagined his lips on her neck, licking his way down to the ravine of her cleavage, and then pushing down the material of her clothes and bra to expose her nipples, which he imagined as hard, dark pink rosebuds, his release was explosive. He didn't dare imagine any further. He was barely handling things as it was.

Bella had invited Edward, Jessica and Alice for dinner. It had been three months since that warm summer day when she'd walked into Edward's shop, and he had seen her several times but never without Jessica. Neither of them ever said very much during their meetings, mainly because Jess hardly ever gave them the chance, but when they did, they respected each other's comments. Both Bella and Edward were sensible, astute and occasionally wry or slightly sarcastic, laughing at the same things.

Edward had resisted Bella's dinner invitation for several weeks, desperate to avoid being in the face of temptation, until Jessica put her foot down.

"Edward, I don't care about the shop or invoices or stock taking or if you've got a headache. We are going to Bella's for dinner tomorrow night." Jessica ranted. "She's always coming out to see us in Hampstead. I think she's lonely. Alice is desperate to see her apartment. She adores Bella, you know. I don't know why you don't like her..." Edward turned round sharply when Jessica said that. Jessica had clearly observed but misinterpreted his avoidance of Bella – no doubt a good thing "...but you can grin and bear dinner tomorrow night, okay?"

The next night, Edward found himself on London's South Bank, outside the chrome and glass apartment building where Bella had a penthouse apartment which looked over the River Thames. Clearly, her Californian employers paid her well. Alice was bouncing up and down with excitement as they stepped into the lift.

"Dad, Aunt Bella's so cool. She said she'd let me look at her makeup collection tonight! America has way better makeup than here! And did you know she's going to take me to Sadler's Wells to see the Cedar Lake Ballet Company next month?"

"That's great, princess," he replied distractedly, kissing her on the forehead and ruffling her short hair, which was naturally strawberry blonde, but Alice had dyed it black-blue with streaks of purple.

Bella greeted them at the door of her apartment. Edward had to suppress a groan as he took in her appearance. She had her hair swept up into a high ponytail that caressed her shoulders. She was wearing a clingy, wide-necked, fawn-coloured cashmere sweater, which exposed her sexy collarbones and the top of her décolletage, and a dark denim skirt that finished three inches above the knee. Her smooth, toned legs were bare.

"Hi! Come in!" She gave Alice a big hug, and Jess too, before stepping forward to greet Edward. "Hi, Edward, how are you? she asked breathily before leaning into him, placing a warm palm on his hard chest and brushing his jaw with a soft, wet, warm kiss. "You're looking...well," she added as she glanced up into his eyes. Her smile disappeared for a second and her gaze pierced him through to his soul before she moved away, appropriately but far too soon for his liking. _Fuck. Hard again. _

Bella had outdone herself when it came to the food. She had prepared a Mexican feast of homemade pico de gallo, guacamole, tortilla chips, quesadillas, spicy shrimps, a chicken mole poblano, rice, salads and refried beans followed by a spectacular flan served with caramelised pineapple. Edward and Alice had eaten like gluttons, hugely appreciative of the non-fancy but very tasty meal. Jessica was more reserved as she was conscious of her weight and didn't want to get too messy.

"Wow, thank you so much, Aunt Bella! That was sooo good!" Alice said.

"Thank you, sweetie! I'm glad you all finally made it over. It's nice to have people to cook for."

"You like cooking?" Jessica asked slightly incredulously. She hated doing it. She only bothered for dinner parties, and even then, that was rare.

"I love it. It's my creative outlet I guess. But I don't have anyone to do it for, apart from you guys, of course," Bella responded enthusiastically.

"No boyfriend?" Jess asked, trying to get some gossip out of her reserved sister. Bella's cheeks instantly stained crimson. She was quite a private person. Edward leaned forward, trying to suppress the jealousy he felt when he thought about Bella getting involved with a man.

"No. I've had a few dates, and there's a man I really like, but he's not available." Bella replied, desperately trying not to look at Edward.

"Oh, what a shame! Still, you're only 29. Not all of us can meet our man at university," Jess replied, placing a hand on Edward's arm.

Bella's eyes fell on her sister's hand, and guilt flooded her.

Edward was keen to move the topic of conversation away from Bella's love life. He hated the fact that he desperately hoped the man she wanted was him.

"Oh! I have a super brilliant idea!" Alice exclaimed suddenly. "Mum, Dad, why doesn't Aunt Bella come with us to the cottage for Christmas?" Before anyone could say anything else, she continued. "Aunt Bella, we're going to Great Uncle Carlisle and Great Aunt Esme's cottage in the Lake District this year for Christmas and New Year. You should come too! You'll love them, and you could cook to your heart's content. The cottage has, like, the best kitchen ever!"

"That's a great idea, Alice, but I'm sure Aunt Bella has plans..." Edward hastily began, worrying how he was going to cope spending a whole ten days in the same place as Bella without going insane with lust.

"Actually, I don't. My father and stepmother, Sue, are going to be on a cruise, which they booked before my transfer to London, whilst Mum and Phil are going on some vegan art therapy detox thing."

"Then you should definitely come, Bella!" Jessica shared Alice's enthusiasm, seemingly oblivious to her husband's reticence.

"Brilliant. Thank you! It'll be nice to have a wintery, cosy Christmas," Bella replied. "Now, Alice, I do believe I promised you a play with my makeup collection."

"Ooh, I'd love to have a look too!" Jessica exclaimed. She was desperate to know how her younger sister achieved her natural-looking complexion.

"Of course. If you head down to my dressing room, second door on the left, I've set it all up in there. I'll finish the washing up and join you in a few minutes."

"Great. Edward will help you, won't you, honey?" Jessica replied as she and Alice got up to head to the

"Of course," Edward said, hating the patronising way his wife had volunteered him.

"There's not actually much to do. Most of it can go into the dishwasher," Bella said once they'd cleared the dining table.

"I'll help you load it up," Edward responded quietly.

They worked silently for a couple of minutes, when Edward made the mistake of glancing in the direction of Bella's chest as she was leaning down to put plates in the dishwasher rack. He gasped audibly and froze as he got a clear look down her sweater, to see the tops of the high, rounded globes, pushed up further by two wisps of chocolate coloured lace. The hard-on in his jeans suddenly became acutely painful. _How am I going to cope with ten fucking days of this at Christmas?_

"Edward." Bella's sweet voice broke him from his troubled thoughts. "Edward?"

"Umm...yeah?" He stood up straight suddenly, and now it was Bella's turn to gasp as her eyes were directly in line with his groin. She was close enough to see the outline of his rock hard member in his jeans. _He wants me too. _She composed herself a fraction faster than he did and shut the dishwasher as she stood up.

"Um, are you okay?" As they made eye contact, the air grew thick with their mutual attraction, tension and fear at the intensity of it all.

"Umm..." Edward couldn't help but take a step closer to her and Bella couldn't help but copy him. There were mere inches between them. He could feel the warmth radiating from her body. She could hear his rapid, shallow breathing. It would be so easy to just step forward and...

"Edward, you feel it too," she whispered, her big chocolate eyes wide with longing. "This thing..." she gestured between them "...this connection."

"Yes," he whispered back. "Ever since that first day in my shop. But Bella, we can't do this."

"I know. But it's torture," she replied. "I want you so badly."

"Torture's right. I dream about you. I fantasize..." He placed one large hand on her hip. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment at the feel of his of his fingers against her.

"Me too. But she's my sister."

Despite her words, Bella was unable to stop herself stepping closer to him so her breasts brushed against his chest. Edward shuddered with desire and his other hand found her other hip. She sighed as he brought his forehead to touch hers.

"She's my wife," he whispered back.

They were milliseconds away from a desperate meeting of their mouths. Bella could smell the after dinner coffee and mint on Edward's breath. Edward could hear Bella's heart threatening to pound out of her chest.

"Oh, Mum! Isn't it such a great colour!" Alice squealed distantly.

Edward and Bella pulled away, aghast at how close they came to giving into their illicit passion.

"Shit," Bella whispered, turning away from him and walking over the fridge to fetch a bottle of Evian.

Edward leant against the kitchen counter, shocked at what nearly happened. Even though he and Jessica didn't have that much in common anymore, she had refused to have any more children after Alice – Edward had always wanted a large family – and they hadn't had any sexual contact beyond kissing in years. He did love her, chatterbox tendencies, vanity and all. He had never even contemplated cheating on her, even though he'd had plenty of opportunities over the years whilst working in advertising. Yet now, he burned for his wife's sister and had almost kissed her whilst his wife and daughter were just a couple of rooms away.

"We need to talk about how we're going to handle this, Edward," Bella said quietly, passing him a glass of water and pouring one for herself. "But obviously, not now and not here."

"When?"

"I'll come by the shop at closing time tomorrow. We'll go somewhere and talk, okay?" Edward agreed, scared beyond belief.

-cc-

Edward had sent his employees home early in preparation for Bella's arrival. She arrived at 6 pm on the dot. Her hair was windswept from the bitter November wind and she was self-conscious of it, but Edward thought she had never looked more beautiful.

They agreed that they needed to go somewhere public, so that they wouldn't be tempted, but somewhere quiet, so they ended up in a corner of the bar in Brown's Hotel.

"Bella, yesterday shouldn't have happened," Edward began.

"It shouldn't, but it did. And if we hadn't been interrupted, it would have gone further, wouldn't it?"

"Yes." He hung his head. Bella tilted his chin back up with a finger.

"I don't want to be in this position either, but I can't deny how I feel about you."

"So what do we do?" he asked, before dropping his voice to a whisper. "Just being in the same room as you for five minutes affects me." His eyes glanced down to his groin, already awake to Bella's presence. Bella followed his eyes.

"I know exactly what you mean," Bella replied, squirming slightly in her seat thanks to the flood of arousal in her panties. Edward's eyes grew large as he realised what her movement meant.

They sat in silence for a while, sipping their Grey Goose Martinis. Edward thought about the resistance it would take to never give into his lust; it would require Herculean control on his part. Bella thought of how good it would feel to be in his arms, to feel him undress her, to taste him and to have him enter her, fuck her, ride her; the thought that she might never get to experience him was acutely painful.

"We need to get each other out of our systems," Bella realised suddenly.

"Sorry?"

"One night. We have just one night. We do everything we want to with each other and to each other. Then we can get on with our lives."

"What if one night isn't enough?"

"It will be. Don't you see? What we're feeling is just sexual. We aren't in love or any of that shit, Edward. We're in lust. We just need to get it out of our systems. I've spent far too long pining, longing and wondering about you, and vice versa. Just one night. Then you can go back to Jessica and Alice, and I can get back to my work and my life without constantly being distracted by thoughts of you."

"I don't know…" Edward replied uncertainly.

"Think of it as damage control. We could spend the next several years dancing around each other, trying and failing to avoid each other, having near misses like the other night, never moving forward, each time leaving ourselves vulnerable to someone realising our mutual attraction and getting hurt over it. Or we do this and move past it."

Edward sighed. Bella's idea was either extremely sensible or extremely foolish. Before he could answer, Bella stood up.

"You need time to think about it," she stated. "Contact me when you do."

She downed the rest of her martini and pulled out a pen from her purse. On the back of a cocktail napkin she wrote down her personal email and mobile phone number. Then she leant down, brushed his cheek with her lips and walked away, leaving him bristling with need.

It took him about ten seconds after she was gone to whip out his phone to text her.

"_Yes. Heaven help me, but yes."_

-cc-

**AN: Thank you for reading. The second chapter is up too and is the other half of the original one-shot. **


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hello! This is the second chapter of 'Just One Night' and is the second half of the original one-shot that I wrote for the Taste of the Forbidden Contest, which won an Honourable Mention from the public vote.**

**I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer:**** The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**Lastly, I have to thank TwiMarti, aka Lynda, who beta'd 'Just One Night' for the contest. **

**-cc-**

Engineering a night alone was not easy, but they eventually came up with a plan and set a date for their "Just One Night" – Friday, 23rd December.

Edward arranged it so that Jessica would drive with Alice to his aunt and uncle's cottage in the Lake District on that Friday morning, knowing that his wife and daughter would like to have time to peruse the German Christmas Market in Birmingham on the way up north. He told them that he had to work on the Saturday, Christmas Eve, and would come up to the Lakes that evening.

Bella had told Jessica that she had to work on Christmas Eve as well and couldn't get out of it, so she would get the train up to Kendal, the nearest town to the Cullen cottage, when she finished. Jessica was the one that suggested that Edward and Bella travel up together on the Saturday evening and further insisted that Edward hire a car service to drive them up. She didn't like the idea of her family taking the train with the hoi polloi when Edward – and Bella too for that matter – had enough money to pay for a limo and travel in style and comfort.

At 6.30 pm on that Friday, Edward made his way to Bella's apartment. He was really fucking nervous. Even when he was riding up in the lift, Edward was worrying, wondering whether he should turn back. Bella felt the same way. She was about to spend the night sleeping with her sister's husband, something that had been her idea and which she had planned. She felt like a complete tramp, but at the same time, she knew that they needed to do this or else they'd never move on. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Hi, Bella." Edward had come straight from the shop so was dressed in a black suit, grey shirt and black tie with the emerald-coloured logo of Green Park Music embroidered on it. He carried with him an overnight bag with a change of clothes and essential things like toiletries, phone charger and iPad. Jessica had taken the rest of his luggage with her in the car.

"Hey. Come in." Bella was still in her work clothes too, wearing a fitted dark blue shift dress with a fashionable peplum and navy high heeled pumps that made her long legs look even longer. Edward ran his gaze over her as he followed her inside. His hands began to shake. Bella noticed.

"Sorry, I…"

"Shh. It's okay. I'm nervous too."

She took the overnight bag from his hand and dropped it on the hallway floor before entwining her fingers with his. Her warm touch was enough to break his anxiety attack and bring forth his undeniable attraction to her.

"I need you," he whispered.

"You have me," she whispered back.

Edward swallowed hard as he lifted his head to meet her deep, dark chocolate brown eyes and brought his face closer to hers. Their foreheads met first, and they stayed still for a moment. He let go of her hands and placed them on her hips before running them up to her narrow waist and back down again. Bella inched herself closer still and placed a palm on his chest. She brought her other hand around his neck and inched her fingers up into the soft locks of hair at his nape, caressing his scalp and tugging the hair gently.

Edward inhaled sharply at the sensation. He loved having his hair played with. Bella's strawberry and freesia scent came over him, and he was utterly lost. He moved his mouth closer to hers and she rose up even further on her tiptoes, desperate for their long-awaited kiss.

When his lips finally met hers, they both felt a rush as some mind-blowing sensation burst through them. Bella parted her mouth to welcome his tongue and he swept it along hers. They continued for several minutes, alternating sweet, soft, short kisses, with deeper, yearning, longer ones. Edward could think of nothing but the incredible woman in his arms. He wanted nothing else in the world but her. All of her.

Bella's reaction to their kisses was similar. They were thrilling yet calming, left her hot and cold, prickling with sensation yet soothing to her soul. She needed more. She needed everything he could give her.

Edward was getting very worked up. His cock was straining against his trousers and pressing against Bella's lower abdomen. Bella slowly stroked her palm down from his chest, over his belt and gently over his groin.

"Holy fuck!" he exclaimed, moving away from her mouth momentarily. Bella looked into his verdant green eyes and repeated the movement. He gasped again, and she grinned.

"Bedroom?"

Edward nodded dumbly. Bella pushed his jacket off his shoulders and let it fall before leading him down the hallway. When they got there, Edward sat himself on the edge of the bed and opened his arms to her. Bella walked into them, and he closed his arms around her slender waist.

"You're so beautiful."

"So are you," Bella replied before leaning down to cup his face with her hands and kiss him.

Edward moved his hands from her waist and down over the curves of her pert ass and then squeezed lightly. Bella moaned and freed her hands from around his face in order to hitch her tight dress up before sinking down on his lap.

"Oof," Edward murmured as she landed right on top of his rock hard cock. Bella wiggled so that his member made contact with her clit. "Fuuuck…" he exclaimed. "Angel, if you keep doing that…"

"But it feels so good!" she exclaimed. "As does you calling me 'Angel.'" she added quietly, trying to suppress the urge to ask whether he called Jessica that too.

"Only you, Bella Angel, are my angel," he whispered, answering the question she'd left unasked.

Desire coursed through Bella anew, and she attacked his mouth once again with a squeal whilst wrapping her arms around his neck and tugging at his hair again. Edward reached up and pulled out the clip that had held Bella's hair up in a chic twist so that her long, shiny, chestnut brown locks tumbled about her shoulders. He twirled some strands around his fingers and brought them first to his nose to inhale their sweet strawberry smell, and then to his lips where he kissed them softly before letting them loose.

"Oh my God, Edward…"

Bella was spellbound by his small action. Her heart lurched in her chest and she buried her face in his neck. She realised then that she had lied to both herself and to Edward. She wasn't in lust. It wasn't just sex. She was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with her sister's husband.

Edward held Bella against him for a while, cherishing the feel of her before gently nudging her away from him in order to look into her pretty face.

"Are you okay?" She nodded. "Do you want to…stop?" She shook her head before softly caressing his lips with hers.

"Definitely not," Bella replied, smiling slightly.

Edward placed his hand on the top of her back, found the zip of her dress and eased it down as far as it would go. Bella reciprocated by pulling out his tie. She then pulled out his shirttails and slowly unbuttoned his shirt.

Bella closed her lips over Edward's chin, and then licked and sucked down his neck. He tasted like honey and cinnamon and other sweet spices. Absolutely delicious. Edward lay down and Bella moved with him, pushing her head forward so her hair cascaded over his skin while she flicked her tongue over his nipples in turn and rubbed her delicate hands over his ripped abdomen.

Edward suddenly flipped them over so he was on top, desperate to see what was hiding under her dress. He undid his belt and pushed off his trousers, socks and shoes, leaving him in just a tight pair of black boxer briefs.

"My turn, angel."

Whatever Edward had imagined did not do Bella justice. As he peeled away the navy garment from her lithe body, he nearly came on the spot as he took in the dark blue lacy bra adorned with tiny polka dots and matching thong underwear. Her breasts jutted upwards, her nipples clearly visible, straining to meet him through the fabric. His eyes swept over the expanse of smooth, flat, creamy midriff and the inviting juncture of her thighs with her hot centre.

Edward began his exploration of Bella by licking her collarbone and then moved up to her ear, along her jaw and down her neck before repeating his action. Bella lay back and enjoyed the wet and slightly rough feel of the flat of his tongue against her skin, occasionally sighing and moaning with pleasure. Edward reached the edge of her bra with his tongue and cupped her breasts gently. Bella sat up a little then and watched him intensely as he squeezed her tits and rubbed his nose in the ravine of her cleavage.

"Take it off, baby," Bella demanded, trying out the endearment for the first time.

"Baby?"

"Um, yeah...is that okay?"

Edward answered by bringing his mouth to hers and giving her a deep, searching kiss. His arms encircled her and found the clasp of her bra, which he promptly opened. Still attached to his mouth, Bella shrugged it off and gasped as Edward squeezed one of her soft breasts. He lay her down once again and took a moment to just look. She looked like a goddess, dark hair spilling around her head, brown eyes full of arousal, creamy skin slightly flushed and high, full tits jutting upwards, each topped with, as Edward had imagined, a perfect, hard, dark pink nipple.

"Very okay, angel!" he replied before closing his mouth over one of those nipples.

"Fuck!" Bella cried, unprepared for the sensation. She was dripping with desire and writhed around under him. "Edward...so good!"

Edward continued lavishing her breasts with attention from his hands and mouth before moving his lips down over her tummy and licking her navel. He moved lower and lower until his mouth was at the top of her pubic mound. He glanced up. Bella had her head thrown back in pleasure.

"Don't stop, baby."

"Angel, I'm going to lick and finger your clit and your pussy now. I want to hear you come."

"Do it, Edward, please!"

Edward slowly rolled down her dark blue thong to reveal her glistening pussy and throbbing clitoris, topped with a trimmed patch of short, dark, silky curls. He was hit with the smell of her want for him and his mouth watered. He brought his thumb to her slit and rubbed it up and down. He then slowly pushed a finger inside and found her pussy. Edward pumped in and out a few times, adding a second finger, and she was overwhelmed by the sheer bliss of his touch. Whilst still fingering her, he brought his lips to her clit for the first time. Bella's back arched off the bed as white-hot sparks pricked behind her eyes. Edward flicked her clit over and over again.

"Oh...oh...Edward! Baby..." Edward smiled against her but continued, desperate to hear and feel her come around his fingers. "Please, please...aah...fuck...Edward...Baby...OH...OHHHH!"

Bella came hard, harder than she had ever come before, her face hot, her thighs wet from the flood of juices pouring from her.

"That might just be the sexiest thing I've ever experienced." Edward was in absolute awe. Bella tasted like the sweetest nectar, and he was a just little proud of himself at his oral skills.

Bella beckoned him with one finger and he crawled on top of her. He attempted to wipe his mouth but she stopped him, wanting to taste his mouth mingled with her juices.

"Really? I think we're only just getting started!" she exclaimed when they broke apart. "Just imagine how good it will feel when you're buried up to the hilt inside my pussy."

Edward couldn't find any words. He needed to feel her – immediately. He scooted them higher off the bed and whipped off his boxer briefs. Bella reached down and palmed him a couple of times before wrapping her slender fingers around his huge member. He jerked and started, and his eyes almost popped out of his head. He was closer to his release than he realised.

Bella, correctly reading the expression on his face, let go of his cock immediately.

"I'm going to have fun with him later, but right now…"

Edward didn't hesitate to line himself up, but just before he did he had a thought.

"Condom?"

"Pill, baby. I've been on it for years, and I swear I'm clean. I was tested a year ago and haven't had sex since."

"Thank God." He did not want to stop now to fumble with some latex.

With no further delay, Edward pressed forward and slid inside her tight, hot canal, right up to the hilt, and hovered over her as he slowly thrust in and pulled out. Bella, who had never been with a man as well-endowed as Edward, cried out in ecstasy at the stretch as he filled her so completely and as the ridge of his cock hit the sweet spot inside her, over and over again.

"Keep doing that, baby. Oh…Edward…amazing…right there."

"Fuck, Bella, I'm really close…" He worried that he was going to come before her, that she would miss out on another orgasm.

"Oh…I'm closer…keep going…" Bella wrapped her legs around his waist to take him deeper still. "Baby…oh…baby…OH…OHHH!"

Edward felt her walls clamp down around him as she came again, and the added sensation brought forth his own release.

"Bella, my angel…FUCK! FUUCK!"

He collapsed on top of her as his seed spilled inside her. She still had her legs around him and also placed her arms around his neck to feel all of him against all of her. When he got his breath back, Edward rolled them onto their sides.

A single tear rolled down Bella's cheek. She wiped it away hastily.

"Bella?"

"It's nothing, baby. It's just overwhelming, how fucking amazing that was."

Edward rested his head against her shoulder and kissed it. She responded by tugging at his hair. They lay there for a while, clinging to each other, until they felt strong enough to separate. Bella quickly cleaned up in the bathroom and came out a couple of minutes later dressed in a large towelling robe and carrying her spare one for Edward.

He pouted at her covered-up form and she laughed.

"If we were in California, the robe would not be necessary but it's fucking freezing, baby."

"So, eleven years in California got rid of your resistance to the British weather?"

"Totally!" She held her hands out to him. He took them and let her pull him up off the bed. "I don't know about you, but I am starving!"

"Oh yeah! Me too!" He put the robe on and kissed her quickly. "Plus, we'll need energy for round two!"

Bella beamed at him and led him to the kitchen.

An hour later, they were lying in each other's arms on Bella's plush, cream leather sofa, kissing, talking and ignoring the TV.

"You know, I've never had such melt-in-the-mouth lamb before, angel. Where did you learn to cook so well?" Edward asked. Bella's Moroccan lamb, chickpea and apricot stew was one of the best meals things he'd ever tasted. "I'm sure it's not from Renee."

Bella laughed. Her mother was well known to be a diabolical cook.

"Hell no! She burns water! I learnt a few things from my Grandma Marie, my dad's mum, when I was little. We lived with her for a few years after Renee left. But really, it was my stepmother Sue – she and my dad got married when I was twelve – who got me really interested. She runs a deli and a café."

"In Manchester?"

"Yeah. It's pretty well known up there," Bella replied proudly.

"You seem close to her."

"Very. She's very maternal and nurturing. I love Renee, but we've always been more like friends than mother and daughter."

Edward nodded. Jessica had said the exact same thing about Renee. Suddenly that thought brought home the fact that his lover was his sister-in-law. Guilt flooded him and he turned away from her.

"Edward? Baby?" He forced himself to look back at Bella. "Hey, where did you go?"

"Sorry, I…" He swallowed hard.

"I get it," Bella replied quietly and sat up. "I just reminded you of Jessica, didn't I?"

"Yeah." He hung his head. "Sorry, angel."

"It's inevitable, baby. But we've given ourselves this one night. Please let us enjoy it, because it's all we're getting." Bella carded her fingers back into his hair and kissed the side of his neck in order to soothe him. She felt the guilt as much as he, but she was resolved to stick to her plan of getting all their lust out of the way.

"You're right." Edward sighed. "I should be making the most of this. I am still worrying about afterwards, though. Christmas and beyond."

"It'll be tough," Bella agreed. "We shouldn't contact each other, except for family emergencies, or else we'll give something away."

"Totally right. Although I will miss our sneaky phone calls and emails."

"Me too."

"Right. Enough chat, angel." Edward pulled Bella on top of him and passed his hands over her back before caressing her ass through the robe. Bella squeaked with delight and excitement and kissed him before moving her attention to his earlobe, which she sucked and flicked with her tongue.

"Mmm…couldn't agree more," she murmured as her kisses drifted down his neck. Her hands found the ties of the robe and pulled them apart so he was naked under her.

"It's not fair for you to be dressed when I'm not, angel!" Edward complained, desperate to see her perfect tits and dark snatch. Bella sat up and rubbed her ass against his cock, causing him to groan.

"You're right, baby." Loving the fact that his lust-filled green eyes were watching her, Bella slowly brought her hands to her own robe belt and pulled the ends apart. She then tantalisingly eased open the robe until she was fully revealed to him.

"Have I told you yet how beautiful you are, angel?" Edward asked, reaching up to cup her breasts.

"Once or twice, but it's still wonderful to hear!" Bella told him playfully, circling her hips in order to keep hitting his hard cock.

"You are, you know. I'm not just saying it. The most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Inside and out." Bella's heart threatened to leap out of her chest. She'd longed to hear those words from him for thirteen years.

"Edward…" She leaned forward to give him the sweetest, gentlest, warmest kiss. "I…" she had to stop herself from blurting out "I love you." "I think you're the most beautiful man I've ever seen." She rose back to her sitting position. "Inside and out."

Bella slid down the sofa, kissing down his chest as she went. She licked and sucked and kissed and caressed her way down his chest and his abdomen until she reached her prize. Just before she engulfed the head of his member with her hot, wet mouth, she glanced up. Edward's eyes were boring into her with thrilling anticipation. Without further ado, she gripped him at the base of his shaft and pumped him slowly before pursing her lips around the head of his cock. The sharp intake of breath from Edward spurred her on as she took him as far into her mouth as she could manage.

Edward could barely remember his own name. Lightning bolts of ecstasy shot through him as Bella sucked him, alternating the pressure she used and where in order to keep him surprised. Bella ramped things up when she decided that his balls were being neglected, and gently fondled them, rolling them around and around with her fingers.

"Holy fucking hell, angel!"

Bella smiled against his cock. She sent a silent thank you to her best friend from Berkeley, Angela, who had made her sit through an embarrassing lesson on giving amazing blow jobs one drunken evening in their dorms. She continued to suck him and pump him in and out of her mouth whilst she moved her free hand under Edward's balls and gently but deliberately stroked the very sensitive patch of skin behind them.

"Oh God, Bella!" She continued stroking, sucking, pumping and fondling, lapping up the salty drips of liquid he was already producing, until she felt him twitch and release deep into her throat. Before she swallowed, she looked him straight in the eye, wanting him to watch his cum go down her throat.

"Thank you, baby," Bella said as she crawled back up into his arms.

"You're thanking me?" Edward asked incredulously. "What for? You just gave me the best blow job in the world!"

"For being here, for going through with this whole 'Just One Night' idea," she replied, looking up at him from under her long, fluttering lashes.

"Oh, my angel..." He leant down to kiss her. "There's nowhere I'd rather be."

-cc-

Edward and Bella spent the rest of the night and most of the next morning and afternoon continuing to explore each other's bodies, losing count of the number of orgasms exchanged. When they weren't touching, cuddling, kissing, licking, sucking, fucking or making love, they cooked and ate together. They read each other their favourite poems. They compared the contents of their iPods and bantered about their favourite plays and movies. Neither wanted their "Just One Night" to end.

The car came to pick them up from Bella's apartment at 5 pm on Christmas Eve. The driver opened the door to the back of the car, and Bella climbed in first while Edward spoke to the driver.

"When you get in the front, please put the divider up." The driver nodded. "And for the love of God, unless we are in imminent danger of death, do not under any circumstances disturb us until we get to the scheduled service station stop, okay? And I'll give you £200 for your discretion and confidentiality in not mentioning anything you might happen to hear accidentally. An early Christmas bonus, if you like."

"Of course, sir," the driver replied, obliged to keep whatever secrets the attractive couple held even before he was offered the surprise Christmas bonus.

Edward entered the backseat of the car too, and once the door was shut, the divider was up and they were moving, he pulled Bella into his arms. She immediately burst into tears.

"Shh, shh, angel. I know. I don't want it to be over either."

"Reality sucks, baby," she said amongst her tears.

"I couldn't agree more."

Bella's sobs subsided after a few minutes, but their mutual melancholy persisted. They spent the journey huddled against each other, kissing and touching, counting down the moments until they would have to resume the platonic roles of brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

They finally arrived at the Cullen cottage at 11.30 pm. Bella had fallen asleep with her head in Edward's lap and he was loathed to move her, but he had to.

"Angel, we're here," he whispered. She stirred but didn't wake. "Bella. I'm sorry, my love, but Jess and Alice are going to be opening the door any second."

That woke her, and she sat up with a start.

"Fuck. Sorry, baby."

"We'd better revert back to 'Bella' and 'Edward.'" Bella nodded her assent sadly, her heart breaking at the loss of "Angel" and "Baby."

They kissed passionately one last time before Edward wiped his eyes and mouth and stepped outside to meet his family. Bella composed herself, put on her game-face and exited a minute later. She greeted her sister and niece with a hug and a kiss and politely met Edward's Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle before claiming exhaustion from her long day of work and travel. Once alone in her quaint and very comfortable room, she took two sleeping pills and cried herself to sleep.

Edward couldn't settle. He tossed and turned all night until he gave up and woke at 5 am. Bella had been right when she said that they would be able to resist each other better once they'd had sex. He just wished that the longing for her body had not been replaced by the realisation that he was hopelessly in love with her.

Both of them managed to go through the motions of Christmas celebrations better than expected. Esme and Bella got on very well, thanks to a mutual love of cooking, arts and culture and joined Esme in preparing the food and poring over her collection of coffee table art books and photography collections. Edward joined his uncle Carlisle and cousin Jasper in fishing, hiking and clay pigeon shooting. Jessica spent her time watching TV, shopping in Kendal and planning lunches and socials with her friends via Facebook. Alice flitted between spending time with all her family members.

Despite the distractions, Edward was not surprised when Bella feigned a work emergency to get out of staying at the cottage for New Year's Eve. He could see the strain on her face every time they were in the same room, which was, by design, not very often. Bella had become more and more worried about seeing Edward kiss Jessica as the clock struck midnight. She was starting to resent her sister for having him, and she didn't want that to show.

Over the course of January and February, Bella threw herself into her work, and only saw Jessica, Alice and Edward a couple of times. She and Edward continued their "no contact" deal, but it was hard. Bella longed to hear Edward's voice, longed to hear him call her "Angel" again. Edward was struggling too. He could no longer sleep comfortably in the same bed as Jessica because his conscious and unconscious mind were both so full of Bella that he constantly worried about saying her name in his sleep. Jessica, fed up of his restlessness, told him to sleep in the spare room. He was exceedingly grateful.

-cc-

In early March, Edward was at home with Jessica and Alice one Monday evening watching TV when the doorbell rang.

"I wonder who that could be," Edward wondered out loud, starting to get up.

"Oh, it's probably Bella. She said she might call in as she had a dinner meeting tonight this side of London."

Nervous knots formed in the pits of Edward's stomach at the thought of seeing Bella.

"Ooh! I'll get it. I'll get it!" Alice exclaimed, bouncing out of her armchair. Edward sat back down.

A moment later, Bella walked into their living room. Jess stood up and hugged her little sister, whilst Edward greeted her with a light kiss to her cheek. Bella's breath caught in her throat. It took all her strength not to just throw herself into his arms.

"Can I get you a drink or anything, Aunt Bella?" Alice asked.

"No, thanks, sweetie. I'm afraid this is just a flying visit."

"Oh, what a shame. It's been ages since we saw you," Jessica said.

"I know, and I'm sorry. Work has been crazy," Bella replied. "Actually, it's the reason I've come to see you."

"Oh?" Edward replied.

Bella braced herself and kept her gaze on Jessica, not Edward.

"I'm going back to California. I've been transferred back."

"No!" Alice cried, her bottom lip trembling. "You can't! We only just got you back!"

"Oh Alice. I know, sweetie. But I've been here nine months, and it was unlikely they'd let me stay past a year," Bella told her niece, internally crossing herself at the lie. She had, in fact, asked to go back to California, as soon as possible.

"When are you leaving?" Jessica asked. Although she and Bella didn't have much in common and weren't that close, Jess had loved having her only sister nearby.

"That's the other thing. I leave at the end of the week. I'm on a Friday afternoon flight to Frisco."

"But that's so soon! Are we going to have any time to spend with you before you go?"

"Why don't I take you all out for dinner tomorrow night?" Bella ventured.

"I'm really sorry, but I can't make it for dinner tomorrow. I'm in York for a trade fair for the next three days," Edward replied, trying not to show his sorrow and heartbreak at his angel's impending departure.

"What a shame."

Bella allowed herself to look at him briefly. It was a mistake, for his expression ripped a hole through her heart, but she remained determined. She couldn't stay in London any longer. Being in the same city as Edward was agony and getting more painful.

"But we can make it, can't we, Mum? Please?" Alice begged.

"That would be great. We can give you a proper send-off," Jessica agreed.

"Brilliant. Is Japanese okay? I thought we could go to Roka?"

"Perfect!" Jess and Alice chorused. They loved Roka, in London's Fitzrovia district.

"Great. Well, Edward. I guess this is goodbye."

"Goodbye, Bella." They stood and Edward embraced her lightly, all the while desperate to feel more. "Good luck in California, and please keep in touch."

"I will."

They all walked her out and waved her goodbye.

"I don't want Aunt Bella to go back to America," Alice whined. Jess put her arms around her and hugged her. Neither noticed Edward slip away to bed in the spare room, where he spent the night wide awake, tears running like rivers from his eyes.

-cc-

On Friday morning, after three hectic days in York at the trade fair, made worse by his utter failure to sleep, a bleary-eyed Edward made his way into work. The postman, who usually arrived at lunchtime, came just as he was opening up shop and handed him a big stack of letters. Edward took them into the office and was about to open them when one of his sales assistants asked for his help.

Three hours later, after helping serve a steady stream of customers and dealing with a surprising number of phone enquiries, Edward finally made his way back to the office at the rear of the shop. After making himself some coffee, he worked through the mail until he was on the last one.

The letter was a thick white envelope and was marked "Private and Confidential, for Addressee only" in clear, hand-written block capitals. Edward opened it. A sheet of expensive notepaper fell out, along with a smaller brown envelope.

_Edward, baby,_

_By the time you get this, I'll be on the 2 pm flight back to San Francisco. Staying in London, being so near and yet so far away from you, is proving too painful, and I can't endure it any more. I requested a return to California, and it was granted. _

_I was wrong. That one night was not enough. Now I know what it feels to be in your arms, to have you inside me, what you taste like, how in tune we are, I can't hang around and watch you be with Jessica. You belong to her, and I can accept that, but I just can't witness it anymore. _

_There is just one more thing. I agonised over whether to tell you this, but found myself stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I didn't tell you, you would find out anyway and be devastated that I had kept it from you. But telling you when I'm on the point of leaving also feels cruel. _

_Please don't hate me for this, but I'm pregnant. The child is yours. It seems that, despite years of me using the contraceptive pill with no issue, one of your strong little swimmers managed to get through._

_I have decided to keep the baby. The envelope contains a picture from the ultrasound scan. I'm not asking for anything from you, and please, please don't leave Jessica for me. I couldn't do that to her or Alice. This baby will be raised in a happy, one-parent family and won't know any different, but if you leave Jess now, Alice will be affected for the rest of her life._

_Okay, it's time for me to go. _

_Edward, I will always love you. Don't doubt that, but you aren't mine. Perhaps in another life, I'll get to be the one who meets you first. _

_Your angel, Bella_

With a shaking hand, Edward opened the small brown envelope and pulled out the small photograph. It was grey and grainy but the head, hands and feet of a tiny unborn baby could quite easily be made out. _His_ tiny unborn baby.

Edward needed to leave. He told his team he was sick and decided to head home. Alice was at school and Jessica was at a charity fundraiser all day, so he could be alone for a while.

He walked into his house, poured himself a large brandy and went upstairs to lie down, in order to contemplate the cluster-fuck that was his life. But when he got to the top of the stairs, he heard noises, keening and wailing, coming from his and Jessica's bedroom. He tiptoed along the corridor and gently pushed the door open.

He wasn't prepared for the sight of his wife, wearing fishnet stockings and nothing else, being fucked from behind by the short, slightly pudgy form of Michael Newton, Edward's closest friend from his days in advertising.

"Oh! Mike! Oh yeah!" she cried.

"Jessica! My Jessie! Say it, babe! Say it!"

"I love you, Mikey! Fuck! I love it when you fuck me like this."

"Oh, Jessie, I love you, babe!"

Feeling nothing at all at the sight of his wife's infidelity with one of his best friends, Edward quietly made his way back downstairs. He downed his brandy, picked up his briefcase, headed back outside and started walking.

"Dad! Dad!" Edward heard from the other side of the road when he was about 100 yards from the house. He crossed over to meet her.

"Alice? What are you doing here? Why aren't you in school?"

"Teacher training half-day, remember? I swear, you and Mum never listen to me!" his daughter cried. "That's why I like Aunt Bella so much. Even though she's, like, the busiest person on the planet, she always makes time for me. I'm going to miss her."

"Aunt Bella's pretty great," Edward agreed.

A Hackney Carriage was passing by with its light on and Edward flagged it down. "Look, princess. I've got somewhere that I need to be. Urgently. I'll explain everything soon, but right now, I need you to go home and wait for your mother to come downstairs. Whatever you do, don't go upstairs until she comes down, okay?" He didn't want Alice to witness what he had just seen.

"Err...sure?"

"Okay. I love you." He kissed Alice on the forehead before climbing into the taxi.

"Love you too, Dad. Bye."

"Bye!"

"Where to, sir?" the driver asked. Edward checked his watch. It was 1 pm. _I have one hour._

"Heathrow Airport, please. As fast as you can."

-cc-

**Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be posted in the next couple of days. **

**CC**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hello everyone! As promised, here is the next instalment of 'Just One Night.' **

**Thank you so much to everybody who has reviewed, both on the Taste of the Forbidden Contest post and on this one. And a big hello to everyone who's added me to favourites and follows. If you've found this story via a teaser site, another big hello! I've not used them before and I have definitely seen a big increase in visitors since posting on them! A big, huge, massive thank you to Cared for helping me out with them!**

**I did mean to find a beta for this story but I haven't had time thanks to lots of real life pressures! Thanks to TwiMarti for beta'ing the original story. Hopefully there aren't any horrible mistakes. **

**Alice is a very important character for this story and this chapter focuses a lot on her. The next chapter will have a lot more Bella. **

**I really hope you like where this goes... please let me know either way!**

**Disclaimer:**** The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 3**

Alice Cullen watched her father climb into the taxi, lean forward to speak to the driver and then lean back in his seat, tugging at his hair as the cab pulled away from the kerb.

As soon as the cab had turned the corner, Alice crossed the road, sat down inside a nearby bus shelter and pulled out her phone to call the person she felt closest to in the world apart from Edward.

"_Hey Bubbles! What's the hap? Are we still on for later?" _Alice was supposed to be meeting him at Leicester Square for ice cream at the Haagen-Dazs cafe and a 3D movie at the Trocadero. She'd been looking forward to it for several weeks, ever since they realised that they both had Teacher Training Half-Day on the same day.

"Um...I'm not sure, Zippy. Some weird shit's going down with the 'rents." Alice replied, twiddling the tassels on her non school-regulation purple scarf nervously.

"_Hey, are you OK? What kinda weird shit?"_

"I'm fine, Zips. I just bumped into Dad leaving our house looking totally super-freaked. He told me to go home and not to go upstairs until my mum came down. Then he said he had to be somewhere urgently and jumped into a black cab."

"_Your dad home in the middle of the day is weird enough. He's like the dictionary definition of workaholic."_

"I know, right?" She loved the way he just instinctively understood. "And I don't know what Mum could possibly be doing that he wouldn't want me to..." Alice suddenly had a horrible suspicion. "...unless...shit!" She heard Zippy take a sharp intake of breath at the same time as he realised too.

"_Double shit! You don't think that he found out about your mum and The Ri-dork-ulous Shitface, do you?"_

"That would explain Dad's freak-out face, but Mum usually sees The Ri-dork-ulous Shitface on Tuesdays evenings and Saturdays, when she says she's going to Zumba. Today's Friday."

"_Well, there's only one way to find out, Bubble-icious."_

Alice glanced apprehensively at her house down the road.

"You're right, Zips. Stay with me, 'K?"

"_Of course. I'm right here, Kid." _She had to smile when he called her 'Kid.' He wasn't actually that much older. She was turning fourteen in a few weeks, and he had turned fifteen on Valentine's Day.

Alice got up and walked back to her house. She fished out her keys and as quietly as she could, opened the door.

At first she could hear nothing but her best guy's quiet breathing on the other end of the phone. She slowly walked up a few stairs and it was then that she heard them. Moaning and groaning. Headboard banging against wall. A couple of muffled words from her mother's voice and a couple from the voice of The Ri-Dork-ulous Shitface, her father's supposed good friend, Mike Newton, who creepily insisted she call him 'Uncle Mikey.'

Alice quickly and silently made her way back down the stairs.

"She's definitely up there with _him_." Alice whispered, shuddering lightly. "And they're still going at it." _Yucksville Central_. She spotted an empty brandy glass on the sideboard. "And I'm sure Dad must've seen or heard them. He's been drinking brandy. There's an empty glass here. He only drinks it when he's stressed. The shit has most definitely hit the fan, Zippy."

"_Hit the fan and got spread round the room." _There was a pause on the line. Alice could practically hear his cogwheels turning. _"Alice, hide the brandy glass, Kid. You don't want your Mum to cotton on that he knows yet. Or that you know."_

"Shitsticks. You're right Zips." Alice grabbed the glass and hid it in one of the sideboard cupboards. "Done."

"_You need to pow-wow your little bum outta there Bubbles, before your Mum realises you came back. I'm leaving the school grounds now. I can be in Leicester Square in 20 minutes."_

"Wait. I need to change! If I go to Leicester Square in my school uniform the truancy police will have me! That's why I came home in the first place."

"_Rookie mistake Kid. Keep a change of clothes in your gym locker."_

"No shit. Learnt that one the hard way, Boss! Doesn't help me now though, when I can't go upstairs!"

"_Have you got anything in the laundry room?"_

"Good thinking Zips. I knew there was a reason I loved you!" _Actually there are a thousand reasons. _Alice padded into the laundry room, which also had the back door to the garden. "Aha! Suc-a-cess!" She said as she spotted her violet skinny jeans freshly cleaned, pressed and folded on top of the clean laundry pail, with her long-sleeved black, violet and pink striped t-shirt underneath.

"_OK good. Hurry up Bubbles!" _Alice put the phone down for a moment and quickly changed, hiding her school skirt, shirt and blazer at the bottom of her dirty laundry pail. The Cullens employed Nettie, who cleaned the house twice a week and did the laundry. Jessica would never go anywhere near it to find Alice's hidden school clothes. She wrapped her purple scarf round her neck, put on her black school pea-coat and then slipped on a pair of clean purple socks and the flat black pumps she had worn to school. They weren't the coolest accessories but they'd have to do.

"Right, I'm good to..." Alice suddenly heard voices on the stairs, and they were getting louder. "Bloodyfrickingcowshit, Zippy, they're coming down!" she whisper-yelled.

"_Hide or something!"_ In her panic, Alice looked left and right before tucking herself behind the laundry room door and almost fully closing it. Sometimes being 5'1" and skinny was an advantage. As an afterthought she opened the back door a little. She knew from experience that it opened loudly but it could be closed silently.

"I'm OK Zips. Go to Leicester Square. I don't know exactly how long I'll be but I'll text you the second I'm on the way, 'K?"

"'_K. Love you Bubbles. See you very soon."_ Alice's heart swelled. It was usually her that said 'Love you' first.

"Love you."

Alice ended the call and then had an idea. She found the voice recording app on her phone. She loved her mother, but she loved her father more. She cherished being the apple of his eye. Alice had kept the knowledge of her mother's affair secret for the past eighteen months because she wanted to protect Edward from heartbreak, and to delay their descent into divorce as much as she could to preserve their family life.

However, now that Edward knew, Alice saw that her parents' break-up was inevitable, and she was firmly on her gentle, hard-working and devoted father's side. She had inherited his almond-shaped eyes (although hers were blue not green), aristocratic high cheekbones and straight nose, the red tint in her otherwise blonde hair, his goodness and his industriousness. If it came down to a custody battle, she'd do whatever it took to stay with Edward, including resorting to espionage tactics.

"...you can't blame me for getting impatient, Jessie." She heard The Ri-dork-ulous Shitface say in his whiny voice. Alice just could not fathom how her mother could want fugly Mike over her handsome father.

"I don't blame you Mikey, but we've come so far with this plan. He's going to cave soon, I swear. Edward's miserable as fuck. He's sleeping in the spare room. I haven't so much as pecked him on the cheek since his parents' funerals. We never talk, not even to argue. He tells himself that loves me at the very least because I gave him Alice, but deep down he's totally ambivalent. If he cared, he'd argue with me."

"Why can't you just tell him you want a divorce, babe? I make way more than he did when he was at the agency. More than enough to support us two and little Alice." Mike asked. Alice felt like retching. It would be a cold day in hell before she shared living space with that creep-a-zoid.

Jessica sighed.

"Like I told you, Edward has to be the one to instigate the divorce because the pre-nup states that if Edward asks for a divorce, I get one third of all his assets and alimony. If I instigate it, I only get the alimony." Jessica replied coolly. "Do you know what one third of £10 million pounds is, Mikey?" she added, rhetorically. From her hiding spot behind the laundry room door, Alice nearly dropped her phone. She had no idea her mother could be such a gold-digger._ Whoa Mummy dearest, my respect for you has totally hit the floor._

"I guess you can't sniff at £3.3 million." Mike agreed. He opened his mouth to ask something else but Jessica pre-empted him.

"And I can't reveal our relationship until after the divorce goes through because if Edward proves I've been unfaithful I get nothing. Not even alimony. Just child support."

"What were you saying about if Edward's unfaithful?"

"If I can prove Edward's been unfaithful before the divorce, I get half his assets, so _five_ million pounds, and alimony. But I tried my hardest and he's squeaky clean, the bastard. So we'll have to settle for the 3 point 3."

"Yeah, he never once tapped any of the girls at the office, even though they practically shoved their tits in his face."

"Way to make me feel bad, Mikey!" Jessica cried, feeling a flash of guilt. She quickly suppressed it though. She was good at keeping guilt at bay.

"Aww, sorry babe. Besides, it's different with us. We're in love and it just so happens that our relationship has overlapped with your marriage for a few years." He replied, taking her into his arms. Alice almost retched again at the sound of him and her mother kissing and giggling.

"I like the way you think, Mikey-poo." Alice's stomach was hurting because she was cringing so much. _Mikey-poo? Gross gross gross gross gross!_

"Aww, babe, I am going to miss you so much when I go to New York tonight!" Mike whined.

"Oh, Mikey...I'm going to miss you too!" Jessica squealed. "Two weeks is such a long time! I've got the trip to the spa hotel in Bath this weekend to distract me but I don't know what I'm going to do with myself!"

"Maybe see your sister?"

"Oh, no can do. Bella's got transferred back to California." Jessica replied a little sadly.

"Aww, are you gonna miss her?"

"I guess. I don't have much family Mikey, and even though I'm jealous as hell of her because she's the pretty one and the smart one, I did love having my sister around. It's different to my friends, although I can't explain why." Jessica explained, unable to identify that the thing that set apart her relationship with Bella was the fact that her kind and warm-hearted sister genuinely cared about her, and her superficial friends didn't.

"You know, I don't agree." Mike began. Alice could hear him kissing some part of her mother, and Jessica sighing. "You are most definitely the pretty one. The prettiest one!" He told her, although he'd never met Bella so couldn't actually compare the two.

"Yeah?" Jessica replied with playfulness in her voice.

"Yeah!" He echoed. "So, why don't you come show me exactly how much you're gonna miss me...?"

Then there was the sound of smooching, giggling, panting and a chair being scraped back. Alice had heard enough. Vibrating with disgust, she quietly picked up her bag and snuck out. Jessica and Mike were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't hear the tiny click of the back door shutting and the light footsteps scurrying away through the side gate.

-cc-

Ten minutes out of Hampstead and Edward was driving himself and the taxi driver insane with his anxiety. Fridays were a bad day for traffic in London, not that any day was particularly great and the North Circular Road was jammed. The taxi driver didn't help by asking Edward which of the five airport terminals at Heathrow he needed to get to; Edward didn't have a clue.

"Well what airline is she flying with?"

"What makes you think it's a 'she'?"

"No man gets as stressed as you are unless a girl's involved." The taxi driver replied, smiling. Edward was too worried to laugh at the driver's observation but agreed with it.

"True. Very very true." He said. "But I don't know which airline! All I know is that she's on a flight to San Francisco at around 2pm."

"Do you have internet on your phone? You could Google the flight times?" The driver suggested. Privately, he suspected that his passenger's mission was going to end in tears, especially given the traffic and the high likelihood that the girl was through security already, but he wasn't about to lose the fare.

"Yeah! Great idea!" Edward replied.

A few taps in his iPhone later and Edward groaned.

"United and British Airways both have flights to San Francisco leaving between 2pm and 2.10pm!" Edward wailed.

"Damn, they fly from different terminals. Is your girl American?"

"No, why?"

"If she's American, she'll probably fly United. If she's British, she'll probably fly BA." The driver reasoned.

"She's British but she works for an American company, who will be paying for her flight, so she's probably flying United!"

"Terminal One it is, then!" The driver replied, not wanting to point out that they'd only moved one mile in the past five minutes. Edward relaxed for a moment and then tried Bella's number for what felt like the hundredth time.

"_The number you are trying to reach is unavailable. Please try again later. The number you are trying to reach is..."_

-cc-

Bella had, like the driver suspected, gone through security and was sitting in the United Airlines-affiliated First Class Lounge. Apart from a couple of businessmen asleep in one corner, it was deserted, which was preferable to Bella. She was trying to hold onto her tears and the contents of her stomach. She had packed her iPhone in her luggage to stop herself from contacting Edward, but now she had nothing to distract her apart from a well-thumbed newspaper.

"May I get you something to drink, Miss Swan? I can recommend our Lanson Ivory Label Demi-Sec, or if you prefer something drier..." An attendant asked, not realising that Bella had already politely dismissed her colleague.

"No thank you. No champagne. No alcohol..." Bella's stomach suddenly lurched violently. "Please could you point me in the direction of the ladies' room?" She asked, standing up suddenly. The attendant showed her the way.

Bella barely made it to the loo before throwing up three times in quick succession. When she had nothing at all left inside her, she sat on the floor of the cubicle and gave way to the sobs, while running her hands over her tummy, which she'd realised, for the first time that morning, was very slightly protruding instead of pancake-flat like usual.

Fifteen minutes later, Bella emerged from the ladies' room with red-tinged eyes, quickly put on her sunglasses and sat back down in her seat. The kindly attendant came forward with salted crackers and a paper cup of peppermint tea.

"I thought you might need these." She offered.

"Thank you." Bella replied, her cheeks colouring at the realisation that the attendant had heard her vomiting and crying, and had clearly drawn conclusions, correct ones.

"Your flight is boarding, Miss Swan. If you like I could accompany you to the gate?" Normally Bella would politely refuse such an offer, but today she needed the support.

"Thank you. That would be great." Before Bella could pick up her bag, the attendant had done it for her.

True to her word, the attendant, whose name was Julia, walked with Bella all the way down to the gate, right to the door of the flight. Bella, usually quite shy, was so grateful that she gave Julia a hug.

The aeroplane doors shut fifteen minutes later. Bella had a window seat but couldn't bear to look out of it to see the plane leave London, to feel her departure from the only man who'd truly touched her heart. When the plane finally took off, Bella allowed just one solitary tear to escape down her cheek and rubbed her tummy again. _It's just you and me now, Little One._

-cc-

Half an hour after Alice escaped from her house in Hampstead, she got off the Tube at Leicester Square Station. She walked into the main square and started looking around.

"Alice!" She turned in the direction of the Haagen-Dazs cafe to see a tall, blond, lanky teenage boy running towards her.

"Jasper!" She ran towards him and he caught her in his arms, lifting her off the ground.

"Oh, Bubbles, are you OK?"

"I am now, Zippy." She replied, resting her head against his chest. He tilted her face up and kissed her sweetly on the side of her mouth. _Why, o why, do you have to be my dad's cousin?_

They both wanted to kiss each other properly, ever since the summertime when they first discovered they liked each other far more than they should, but agreed that it was too soon. Although young, they both knew that their relationship was very special, that they shared a forever kind of love, and that they didn't have to rush the physical side of it. They also agreed that it was imperative that neither set of parents found out, which was when they came up with their nicknames for each other. Alice was 'Bubbles' because everyone told her that she had a bubbly personality, and Jasper was 'Zippy' because he liked running and was really fast, really, well, zippy.

"Ice-cream?" He asked, taking her hand. "The cafe's actually not too crowded for once."

They shared a banana split with cookie dough, Belgian chocolate and strawberry cheesecake ice cream, chocolate sauce and whipped cream, as well as having hot chocolate with marshmallows. They both had a strong sweet tooth in common. Whilst eating, Alice filled Jasper in on the conversation she'd overheard between Mike and Jessica.

"Amazing shitballs, Bubbles!" Jasper exclaimed.

"It's all so fucked up, Zips." Alice confessed. "It's like a bloody soap opera, except it's my life!" Her eyes started misting and she dabbed at them with napkins. "My mum's sleeping with my dad's best friend, who's a creep, and she's trying to screw him over for money. My dad has found out about my mum cheating and has disappeared somewhere in the back of a Hackney Carriage. My aunt, who's the loveliest person in the world, has pissed off back to America." She ranted. "It's been, like, the most spectacularly fucking piece of shit week ever!"

"It'll all work out, Bubbles." Jasper tried to soothe her by wrapping his arm around her shoulder and kissing her temple. "Edward and your mum are better off split up. And you're old enough that, if it comes to a custody fight, you can tell a court who you want to live with and why."

"You think?" Jasper nodded. "I wonder...do you think Dad might have gone to see your mum?" Alice asked suddenly.

"Of course!"

Esme had acted as the Cullen family's lawyer since she married into the Cullen family nearly 30 years earlier, and along with her doctor husband Carlisle, Edward's uncle- the younger brother of his father Edward Senior- was executor of Edward Senior and Elizabeth Cullen's estate. Esme had also drawn up Edward and Jessica's pre-nuptial agreement at Edward Senior's insistence.

"She'd know all about the money and the pre-nup stuff!"

"Why don't we go see her? She won't mind if we crash her office."

"But Zips, won't she suspect something's going on between us if we pitch up together?"

"Why? We're supposedly like brother and sister, right?" Alice nodded. "Don't brothers and sisters go for ice cream together? Rosie and Lottie used to take me out for ice cream all the time before they went to uni." Jasper said, referring to his older twin sisters Rosalie and Charlotte, who were twenty-six and worked as a litigator and a theatre actress respectively. Jasper had been a late surprise baby for Esme and Carlisle at the age of forty. "And the less we try to explain, the fewer questions she'll ask." He added.

"True, I guess." Alice had sometimes gone on trips for ice cream with Jasper, Rosie and Lottie. She used to always come back wishing she had a sister or a brother. It was lonely, being the only child. "OK, let's finish up and go."

-cc-

At 2.32pm, after spending 90 minutes in crawling traffic, Edward's taxi screeched to a halt in front of London Heathrow Airport Terminal One.

"Go Edward, go!" The driver, Mark, yelled, once Edward had paid him. "I'll wait five minutes, just in case." He couldn't help but like his passenger, running after his pregnant girlfriend like something out of a movie, even though he was certain that it was going to be a fruitless mission, that the chances of the flight being delayed were slim. Sure enough, not two minutes later, Edward stumbled out of the terminal, shoulders slumped, looking broken.

"She's gone. The flight left at 2.09pm." He choked out before climbing back into the cab.

"I'm so sorry." Mark started up the engine again. "Shall I take you back to Hampstead?"

Edward was so caught up in his disappointment that he didn't answer straight away.

"What? Oh sorry, umm...no." The logical part of Edward's brain kicked in all of a sudden. "Please could you take me to Harley Street?" Harley Street was famous for being where London's best doctors had offices, but it was also home to Cullen and Associates, his aunt's law practice.

"No problem."

Edward spent most of the journey lying back with his eyes closed, letting the bitter, crushing pain of disappointment wash over him. However, as the cab trundled back into Central London and approached the Marylebone flyover, he realised that he couldn't dwell on his heartbreak over Bella any longer because he had another girl to worry about. Alice. He had made a mistake sending her back into the house. She was extremely bright and inquisitive; she'd probably completely disregard his instructions to wait for Jessica to come down, and even if she had listened to him, she'd know what was going on the second she laid eyes on Mike coming down the stairs. _Oh, God. She's going to be traumatised for life. _

He pulled out his phone to call his daughter. It went straight to voicemail, which worried him.

"Hi Alice, it's Dad. Please can you call me as soon as you get this? I'm so sorry I ran off like that and you've probably got a lot of questions, so we really need to talk. I love you, princess."

-cc-

It was a good thing that Esme Cullen was just doing some paperwork that Friday afternoon because her whole day was able to be turned on its head.

"Yes, Lucy?" She said into the intercom on her desk when her new assistant buzzed.

"_Sorry to bother you, Mrs Cullen, but there's a...hey, you can't go through there without...hey!"_

A second later, Esme's youngest son burst through her office door with her great niece.

"Mum, sorries to crash but it's mega-important!" Jasper cried.

"Jasper! Alice! Why aren't you two in school?" Esme replied as the two rather flushed teenagers collapsed in the leather chairs on the other side of her desk, but then she remembered. "Oh, is today Teacher Training half-day?" They nodded.

"Mrs Cullen, I'm so sorry!" Lucy exclaimed, running in a moment later. "They just ran past when I was..."

"Lucy, relax! Meet Jasper, my son." Jasper waved meekly. "And my great-niece, Alice." Alice waved feebly and didn't look up. Esme looked over the teenage girl shrunk back in the chair and was immediately concerned. "Please could you hold all my calls except from my family?"

"Of course." Lucy quietly left the room and Esme came round the desk to kneel in front of Alice.

"So, what's wrong, munchkin?" She asked gently. Alice, who had holding it together pretty well until that point, burst into tears when she felt Esme's natural maternal warmth, maternal warmth that she didn't really feel from Jessica, who sometimes made her feel more like her little shopping buddy and Barbie Doll, instead of like her daughter. Esme put her arms around her and let her cry into the shoulder of her black Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dress. She glanced over at Jasper who was looking at Alice worriedly.

"M-M-Mum and Dad are going to split up. Mum's been cheating on Dad and he's found out." She sobbed.

"What?" Esme asked. She wasn't surprised; it was quite obvious to her that Edward and Jessica were not happily married, but she wanted to know how Alice had come to the conclusion that Jessica was cheating. "Start at the beginning, Alice."

"Mum's been having an affair with Dad's friend Mike for ages, but I found out a couple of years ago. It was the day we found out that Grandpa Ed and Grandma Wizzie had died. Dad was at work when the police from Australia called about the accident. Mum answered and after the call ended, she sat me down and told me what happened. I got really upset so Mum made me a hot chocolate with marshmallows and sprinkles and told me to go upstairs for a lie-down." Alice paused for a moment, remembering both the pain of that day and the fact that Jessica could be maternal when she wanted to be.

"I fell asleep for a few minutes but then I woke up because I needed to call...a friend." She continued, not wanting to say that she'd wanted to phone Jasper. Even before they developed romantic feelings for each other, Alice and Jasper had been close. "I'd left my mobile downstairs so went to get it and that's when I heard Mum on the phone. She was saying that she couldn't get away to meet whoever was on the other end, and that she didn't know when they could pick up again.

"I went back upstairs and picked up the other phone, and was really shocked to hear Mike's voice."

"Mike...Newton?" Esme asked. Jessica was having an affair with one of Edward's closest friends? _That slutty cow! And with Mike? That dickhead? _

"Yeah. He was calling her 'babe' and told her that he loved her and that when she was free he was going to..." Alice couldn't bring herself to use the exact words Mike used to describe having sex with her mother. "...do stuff to her, and she, um, liked the sound of it." Esme's eyes widened. _Oh God, poor Alice._

"So what happened today?"

Alice described the events of earlier in the afternoon but didn't tell Esme about the pre-nup conversation she'd overheard.

"...so now I don't know where he is! He's disappeared and he's probably really upset and it's totally my entire fault!" Alice cried.

"Alice, why do you think it's your fault, munchkin?"

"If I hadn't kept it to myself, he wouldn't have found out like that, and he wouldn't have been so miserable for ages and ages!"

"It isn't your fault, Alice. Sometimes adults who aren't happy in their relationship seek comfort with someone else. Your Mum and Dad might be able to work things out."

"I don't want them to! I don't want to see her ever again!" Alice exclaimed loudly. "She's a complete bitch for what she's done to my dad!"

"Alice, I know you're upset but there's no excuse for that kind of language, young lady." Esme chastised, although privately she agreed.

"Sorry." Alice mumbled.

"You need to tell Mum the thing about the pre-nup, Alice." Jasper said.

"Pre-nup?"

"Mum wants Dad to divorce her because that way she gets more money and she said that if Dad found out about her and Mike she'd get nothing. She even said she tried to catch Dad cheating because then she'd get more cash. But she didn't find anything so she says she'll have to make do with the three point three million."

Esme's jaw was on the floor. She had always known Jessica was selfish, but to hear that she was a money-grabbing gold-digging bitch was still a shock.

"Alice are you sure about this?" she checked. Alice brought out her phone and played Esme the recording she'd already shared with Jasper.

"_...If I can prove Edward's been unfaithful before the divorce, I get half his assets, so five million pounds, and alimony. But I tried my hardest and he's squeaky clean, the bastard. So we'll have to settle for the 3 point 3..."_ Jessica's voice rang out clear from Alice's iPhone.

Esme almost rubbed her palms in glee at the thought of the divorce.

Just then, her intercom buzzed.

"Yes?"

"_Um, there's an...um...uh...Edward Cullen...here..." _Lucy stuttered out, Edward's handsome appearance having completely floored her.

"Send him in."

Edward strode through the door and froze when he saw his tearful daughter sitting there.

"Princess." He said simply before kneeling down on one knee and opening up his arms.

"Daddy!" Alice ran into her father's embrace.

"I'm so sorry Alice! I should never have sent you in there, knowing what you..."

"No Dad, I'm sorry! I've known about Mum and Mike for ages. I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to get hurt and I didn't want you and Mum to split up, but it's not right for you to stay together. I see that now. You're miserable, and I'm sorry I kept that going."

"You knew?" Alice nodded, fresh tears running down her face. "Oh, my poor baby girl!" He wiped her tears away with his thumb and hugged her again. "You carried the burden of that knowledge for me?"

"I love you Dad. I thought I was doing the right thing."

"Alice Elizabeth Cullen, none of this is your fault. Now I don't know what's going to happen from here on in, but there are two things I want you to be sure of- that I love you more than life itself, and that this mess is 100% _not_ your fault, OK?" He emphasised. "Now I need to talk to Aunt Esme about some things in private, and then we're going to talk about what happens next." He glanced up at his aunt who nodded, already forming a game plan in her mind.

"Jasper, why don't you take Alice to the staff room and watch some TV? We'll come and get you when we're done."

"Sure Mum. Come on Alice." Alice got up and followed him out the door. As soon as it was shut, Esme strode over and gave her nephew a hug.

"Oh Edward, what a day!" To her surprise, Edward started laughing, although it wasn't because of humour.

"Aunt Esme, Jessica's infidelity isn't the half of it."

"It isn't?"

"No." He replied, walking over to the leather chairs and sitting down. "Listen, what I'm about to tell you goes no further than this room. Client-lawyer confidentiality."

"Of course, Edward. It's a given."

"I mean it. Not even Uncle Carlisle."

"Edward. I absolutely will not divulge anything that you tell me is confidential." Esme reassured him. Rather than sit opposite him at her desk, she sat in the other chair next to him and placed her hand over his. He swallowed hard.

"I've done a really stupid thing, Esme." He paused and she clasped his hand tighter. "I've fallen in love with someone with whom I shouldn't have fallen in love. She's left, and I am heartbroken."

Esme knew instantly who her nephew was talking about. She was good at reading people, even people like Bella, who were reserved and guarded. Esme had spent enough time with Bella at Christmas to realise that she cared deeply for Edward, and whenever she was in the room, Edward could only focus on her, despite trying his best not to.

"Edward, you're in love with Jessica's sister aren't you?"

"Yes." He replied, at first surprised that his aunt had guessed, but on second thought, he realised that if anyone would guess, it would be Esme.

"And she loves you too?"

"Yes." Edward confirmed. "She left because she couldn't stand being in London anymore, seeing me with Jessica."

"So you and Bella...had a relationship. An affair."

"Sort of. We had one night, and then agreed that was it. Because we didn't want to hurt Jess."

"What do you want, Edward?"

"I want Jessica out of my life. I want sole custody of Alice. I want to go to California and get down on my knees and beg Bella to let me be a part of her life and the life of our unborn child."

"Bella's pregnant?"

"Yes." Edward fished out the letter and ultrasound scan picture from his jacket pocket to show her.

"Oh my God." Esme exclaimed.

"I know I've been an idiot Aunt Esme, but it was like we were magnets, polarised towards each other. Lust and love at first sight. And in getting to know her, I see that we're a perfect fit. I need to be with her. I tried to catch her at Heathrow this afternoon but I missed her. As soon as I can, I'm going to go out there to beg her to come back."

Esme stood up and started pacing, running over the minute details of the pre-nuptial agreement she had drawn up.

"Edward, you are not going to like what I have to say next, but it's important." Edward turned and watched her pace, worried. "You cannot see Bella until the divorce goes through."

"WHAT?!" Edward stood up and yelled. "Why the hell not?"

"The terms of the pre-nuptial agreement." Esme stated. "If you are going to instigate divorce on the grounds of Jessica's infidelity, then you have to be seen to have been faithful in order for her to have no claim on any of your assets, right up until the _decree absolute_ goes through. If she gets wind of your relationship with Bella before then, she's automatically able to claim half of your assets, regardless of her own indiscretions. So any contact you have with Bella must be minimal and not be perceived as romantic."

"What? Why was it set up like that?"

"The agreement was designed to protect you from her, not the other way round. Your father, even though he didn't want you to marry Jessica, had no doubt about your ability to stay faithful. He always predicted that you would be the one who'd get cheated on, and you would be the one who would stay committed to her, even if you were unhappy." Esme explained.

Edward started to interrupt but Esme continued.

"But also, the pre-nup was worked out on your assets at the time of your marriage, which were reasonable, but nothing like what you have now. If your parents hadn't died, your assets would have been half a million pounds at the most, and it wouldn't have been such a big deal because if you did end up losing half your assets to Jessica, Ed and Liz would have helped you out."

"Well, Dad was right about me and Jess, except that he couldn't have known about Bella walking into my life and the depth of love I felt for her almost instantly."

"He'd have adored her, and Liz would have too." Esme replied, feeling a sharp pang in her heart at the thought of her late sister-in-law, her best friend. "They always wished you could have found that kind of love. They knew that if Jessica hadn't become pregnant, your relationship would have fizzled out."

"I can't bring myself to regret it. Jessica gave me Alice, after all. But my heart is Bella's. I don't care about the money."

"Edward, Jessica could walk away with half of everything. That's money that could be used to secure the future of you, Alice, Bella and the baby. You'd have to sell the shop, the house, Liz and Ed's jewellery and art collections..."

Edward sat back down to think about what Esme had said. As much as he wanted to jump on the first plane to California, Esme had a point. He could live in a shack somewhere and be OK, but he couldn't compromise his daughter's future, or his unborn child's, not even for Bella. Yet his heart broke at the thought of not being able to talk to her, of not being able to tell her that he wanted a life with her. What if she moved on? Found some other man to play daddy to his child? _No, Bella's not like that._

"You have a point." He agreed. "So if the divorce goes through on the grounds of Jessica's infidelity, I'm not obliged to give her anything at all, right?"

"Right...?" Esme replied warily.

"But if she agrees to give me sole custody of Alice and doesn't contest the divorce, I'm prepared to give her some alimony and perhaps a deposit towards a property of her own."

"That's very generous." Edward shrugged.

"I want this divorce to go through as quickly as possible."

"We can put it to her. If she's sensible, she'll accept whatever you suggest, especially when she hears we have proof of her infidelity."

"Proof? What, other than me and Alice seeing it for ourselves?"

"Your quick thinking daughter is so desperate to stay with you after the divorce that she recorded her mother talking to Mike. It's clear enough to stand up in court, if we need to use it."

"Fantastic." Edward replied. He was not a spiteful person by nature, but seeing his daughter's tears and feeling the effects of Bella's selfless but misplaced decision to leave, he wanted Jessica to suffer.

"Are you going to tell Alice about Bella and the baby?"

Edward thought about it for a moment.

"No. Not for a while. Not until this mess has been sorted out. Alice has carried enough secrets for the time being." He replied, pain searing through him at the thought of the burden his little princess had carried for him, for nearly two years.

"Fair enough. I'm just going to nip to the ladies' and then we'll go find her and Jasper, OK?"

Edward nodded sombrely, deep in thought.

_No contact with Bella? I might just die. She has to know that I love her. I have to tell her somehow, and beg her to wait for me. There has to be a way._

-cc-

**AN: So...? Please let me know what you think. All being well, the next chapter will go up in a week's time, next Wednesday.**

**CC**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hello everyone! Thank you so much for all of your reviews and comments. Lots of you showing brave little Alice some love, and shooting Jessica some serious daggers! I've tried to reply to all of my reviews, but sorry if you've not got one! I can't promise to always reply each time I post, but I will try! **

**If you've been reading the other story I've got in progress, 'The Tide is High' you'll know that real life pressures mean that I'm about to have a rather stressful week, which means that it's going to be two weeks until I post an update after today. There are two chapters of this story today. **

**Disclaimer:**** The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-  
**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 4**

Edward was looking out over the River Thames watching the sun start to set. He and Alice had moved into the penthouse apartment in Shad Thames that had been Bella's until five days earlier. Unsurprisingly, he was thinking about Bella and their unborn baby. On his behalf, Esme had tried and failed to call Bella on her UK mobile phone and had not been able to find any other phone numbers for her. Edward no longer possessed her email address as Bella had made him delete it and all their emails from his account in the taxi on the way to the Lakes at Christmas. Bella eschewed social media so Edward could not contact her via Facebook or Twitter, and she didn't have a LinkedIn profile. Therefore he had taken a chance by sending her flowers and a note to her office, after using Google to find the address of the company's headquarters. He hoped that she got them, liked them and that she would wait for him like he had asked.

Despite how little time they'd spent together, Edward missed Bella with every bone in his body, especially at night, when he woke up frequently during the night in a cold sweat, panicking that he would never see her again. All he could do was hope that she got the flowers and that she would wait for him.

Esme had made it clear that Edward absolutely could not disclose any details about the divorce or the pre-nuptial agreement to Bella because of her links to Jessica. Edward and Esme had argued about it, and about the contact embargo, several times. Esme was trying to protect him and Alice. She knew that Edward and Bella were in love, but Jessica was Bella's sister, and Esme never underestimated the strength of family loyalty, even in a family as disjointed at Bella's. It would take just one slip, one guilty confession, for everything to crumble and Jessica to walk away with over five million pounds.

After the events of Friday, Alice had flat-out refused to return to the house in Hampstead as she couldn't bear to live there any longer. Esme immediately invited them to stay at their house, a stunning double-fronted 1930s six-bedroom detached house in the heart of Chiswick, in West London. Tired, mentally and physically, and in need of the cocoon of love and support so naturally provided by the Cullen family, Edward and Alice agreed wholeheartedly.

The next morning Edward had rung round some lettings agents to find a serviced apartment for him and Alice to live in while the divorce proceedings were going through. The third agent with whom he had spoken happened to be the one that handled Bella's apartment. Edward accepted the property the moment he heard the address, without even viewing it, and paid extra to take it on the same day despite the fact that it hadn't yet been deep-cleaned. He picked up the keys that afternoon, paid a removals firm an extortionate amount of money to work short notice, and by Sunday evening, all of his and Alice's things, even Edward's beloved baby grand piano, had been moved over, whilst Jessica was on her spa hotel break, oblivious.

Alice was still angry and hurt by her mother's actions but she felt calmer and more at home in Bella's old place. Although being in Shad Thames meant she was further from school, it was nearer to most of her various extra-curricular activities. She loved the river view and the fact that Edward had let her have the master bedroom with the giant bathroom and dressing room. She was worried about him though. He kept wondering from room to room in the apartment as if searching for something. He was quiet and Alice was sure that she had heard him crying softly in his bathroom the previous night. She was surprised that he seemed to be so devastated. She had never thought of her parents as close. She could not remember him being affectionate or lovey-dovey with Jessica in the way that Great Uncle Carlisle was with Great Aunt Esme, or Grandpa Ed with Grandma Wizzie.

"Dad?" Edward turned round at the sound of his daughter's voice.

"You OK, princess?" She walked up to him and he put an arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah. Just getting a bit hungry. You want dinner?"

Edward wasn't actually hungry but he didn't want to set a bad example for Alice. He was fanatical about her health. He was always the disciplinarian when it came to good habits, from brushing and flossing her teeth to three meals and plenty of fluids through the day. Over the past few years, Alice's talent for dance had started to really shine through and she had begun to win competition after competition. She had also started taking Saturday classes with the Royal Ballet, a huge honour. Alice wanted to be a professional dancer and therefore Edward encouraged her to think of herself as an athlete and performer, and took on the responsibility of making sure she was at her best for every performance.

"Sure. What would you like?" He asked, mentally running through the groceries he had bought.

"I'll cook, Dad. Aunt Bella taught me this yummy chicken dish with chorizo sausage and new potatoes. We have all the stuff." A flicker of pain crossed Edward's face at the mention of Bella's name.

"D-did she? That was um, nice of her. It sounds lovely, princess."

Alice saw the pain in her father's eyes but didn't understand it. Was it because Bella was her mother's sister? Or was it something else?

"It's delish, and it'll be great with that salad you bought from Borough Market." Alice replied. "I'll get started." She started to skip off to the kitchen, but halfway there turned back to Edward. "Dad, please could you play something for me?" She asked, glancing over at the piano.

"Of course, princess."

Edward sat down at the piano and played the first tune that came into his head, Debussy's _Clair de Lune._ It was one of his favourites, but more importantly, it was Bella's favourite. She had been ecstatic to find it on his iPod when they were comparing music collections and even more delighted when she found out that he was the one playing the piano. He remembered playing it softly in the limo on the way up to the Lake District at Christmas when she was upset; she had curled up in his lap and kissed his jaw before falling asleep to Debussy's light and gentle notes.

Alice observed her father playing the piano. He always played with passion, but it seemed more intense than usual. And he was playing Aunt Bella's favourite, _Clair de Lune._ That was an odd coincidence. _We're in Aunt Bella's former apartment. He freaked a little when I said her name. He's playing her favourite tune. But he doesn't know that it's her favourite, does he?_ Alice couldn't help but feel that something else, something other than the divorce, wasn't quite right, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

-cc-

At around the same time as Edward was playing _Clair de Lune_ in London, Bella was starting her morning by walking into her company's headquarters in Palo Alto.

Upon her return to California, Bella took a couple of extra days off after the weekend in order to heal a little before going back to work. She delayed reconnecting her US mobile phone account, cut herself off from the rest of the world and got planning for the arrival of her baby, who she called her 'Little One'. Her copy of the ultrasound picture took pride of place on the fridge in the kitchen of her North Berkeley house. She found an obstetrician/gynaecologist. She updated her medical insurance details. She found antenatal classes and a yoga group for pregnant women. She went grocery shopping for healthy food safe for the pregnancy.

Bella worked for a large multinational software company as a financial analyst specialising in reviewing the company's efficiency and productivity in order to maximise profits. When she found departments that weren't working well enough, she put plans into place to try to help them improve. She also sought out areas where there was the wasting of company resources and addressed them. She had saved the company a fortune. She had been transferred to London to work her magic on the European arm of the company whose results weren't as good as in the USA. She had done wonders but when Bella insisted that she needed to return to California for personal reasons despite there still being work to do in London, they agreed, wanting to keep her, for nobody worked harder for them than Bella.

"Welcome back, Miss Swan." The kindly guard of her office building greeted Bella on her first day back. "You look well."

"Thank you Godfrey." She replied politely. "How are you?" Bella asked as she showed her ID, signed in and picked up her swipe card and entry fob.

"Good. Good thank you." Godfrey said. "Sure is nice to see you back. And I'm not the only one who thinks so."

"No?"

"Your assistant, Kim, signed for something special for you yesterday." He told her, eyes twinkling.

"Oh right. Thanks Godfrey." Bella responded, slightly bemused by his grin.

Bella made her way to her office and was greeted enthusiastically. She was known for being a bit quiet, but kind and generous, without a single work-shy bone in her body. Bella often brought and shared sweet treats with her team when she'd been in the mood to bake, and would always muck in with the junior members of her team when they had a big piece of work to do.

She walked down the hall to her office, where Kim was already at work.

"Bella!"

"Kim!" The two women greeted each other with a hug.

"It's so great to see you!" Kim had missed her boss.

They spent a few minutes catching up. Kim had gotten engaged to her boyfriend Jared in Bella's absence, and Bella offered her warmest congratulations.

"So what about you? And don't say that there's no gossip! How do you explain those?" Kim pointed at a massive display of flowers on Bella's desk. They had arrived the day before with a card in an envelope marked 'Private and Confidential. For Addressee Only.' Bella walked over to inspect the stunning bouquet. It was made up of red and white roses, red carnations, red tulips, red and white acacia flowers and leaves, and baby's breath, all sat in a royal blue vase.

"Err... these will just be from my family in England. Red, white and blue. Colours of the British flag." She lied. Kim often took things at face value, and accepted what Bella said, without questioning why the card would be addressed in such a way if it was just Bella's family wishing her good luck.

"OK then. Coffee?"

"Would you mind getting me some decaf?" Bella asked, knowing that Kim would have to make a new pot for decaf coffee, thus buying her some time alone.

"Sure."

Once she was out of sight, Bella closed the door to her office and shut the blinds. She sat in her chair and opened the envelope. The card was printed with a Union Jack in the shape of a heart, and inside was simply printed a generic, 'Good Luck' and 'We'll miss you.' However, a sheet of paper fell out.

_My angel,_

_I hope you like the flowers. They all have meaning._

_Acacia- Our secret Love. _

_Red Rose- Our true Love._

_White Rose- Your virtue, my reverence of you, our silence, our secrecy._

_Red Tulip- My undying love for you. Hopefully you feel the same way._

_Red Carnation- Our passionate love._

_Baby's breath- Your pure heart. Yours is the purest of them all._

_I understand why you left, but you couldn't possibly have known before your departure that events were already set in motion for the break-up of my marriage, regardless of what happened between us. I'm sure you will hear more about this in due course but I'm afraid I cannot divulge any details myself._

_I am in love with you, angel, and I know that we belong together. My heart is always and forever yours. I believe that we can have a long and happy life together- you, me, Alice and our child. This I promise you, unless you don't want me._

_Please, wait for me. You might not hear from me directly for a while, and you probably shouldn't contact me directly either, but I promise you that all my thoughts are about you. I implore you to not feel bad about our love. It's an unstoppable force; we were powerless to resist. And if things go right, it won't be a secret love for too much longer. _

_Until then,_

_Your baby_

Bella read it several times, each time wiping away fresh tears. Her heart soared with Edward's declaration of his love for her but his note had left her confused too. What did he mean when he wrote that 'events were already set in motion'? As much as she was in love with Edward, and as much as he proclaimed to be in love with her, Bella could not let herself believe that a relationship could ever occur. Edward would always be her sister's husband, and the father of her niece. Even if he and Jessica split up, it would still cause a rift in her family if Bella were to pursue a relationship with him. With a heavy heart, she acknowledged to herself that she could not be with him, even though she desperately wanted to be.

"Everything OK?" Kim asked as she put Bella's decaf coffee down in front of her.

"I have absolutely no idea." Bella replied, before smiling up at Kim, plastering on her game-face. "Shall we get to work?" She added, ever the consummate professional.

-cc-

Bella got home at 6.30pm and went for a run, as was her habit, although she was taking things easier now that she was carrying Little One. She had had a good first day back at work, and whilst she liked being back in the familiar environment, and the Californian sunshine, she knew that her heart was in London, and Edward's note and flowers today just confirmed it. She tried to suppress her despair.

Half an hour later, Bella walked back into her kitchen, flushed from the exercise, did her stretches and drank a large glass of Evian before peering into the fridge, deciding what to make for dinner. She was interrupted by the phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"_Bella?"_ It was Jessica, and she sounded stressed. It was just after 7pm in Berkeley, which meant that it was 3am in London. _Why's Jess up so late?_

"Jess, hi!" Guilt shot through her. "Everything OK?"

"_No! My bastard husband has left me! And he's taken Alice!"_

"Oh my God! What...I mean...how?"

"_I don't know! I went away for a five-day spa break and fat flush with some friends and when I got back this afternoon, he and Alice had moved out! On the kitchen table he left a note which said 'I'm leaving you, and Alice is coming with me. Get yourself a lawyer. I'll be in touch.'"_

"Jess, what are you going to do?"

"_Get a lawyer, I suppose. I mean, I knew we weren't happy but I would have thought he'd sit down with me and talk about things before leaving and taking away my daughter!"_

"Have you tried to contact them?"

"_I've phoned both their mobiles and there's no answer. I called the shop and Edward's manager told me that he's taken a couple of weeks off."_

"Has Alice been to school?"

"_Oh, I don't know. I guess I could go over there tomorrow to see, but it will clash with my hair appointment."_

"Jess, surely your hair appointment can wait?"

"_But it's with Alec! He's the style director!" _Jessica cried. "_I'll phone the school in the morning when I'm in the foils. If she's there I'll go down in the afternoon."_

Bella was stunned at her sister's self-centredness and apathy towards her daughter. Her hand automatically flew to her tummy. _ Little One, I'd never let anyone or anything come between me and you. Never._ Anger rose from the pit of her stomach, as well as jealousy. _ You don't know how fucking lucky you've been, Jessica._

"God, the poor thing. Alice is probably really confused and upset." Bella observed, trying to make her sister focus on the most important part of the equation. Alice.

"_Yeah."_ Jessica replied_. "I suppose_." Jess replied, sounding distracted.

"Look Jess, I'm afraid I'm on my way out," Bella lied, struggling to hold onto her temper. "But we'll talk soon OK?"

"_Yeah, thanks Bella. Thanks for listening."_

"Bye." Bella replied before hanging up and screaming loudly into her hands.

Jessica put the phone down on her sister and climbed into bed, satisfied with the last of her token sympathy-collecting. After she had gotten back and seen Edward's note, she had spoken to several of her friends who had proclaimed Edward a bastard and a fuckwit, and a couple even told her 'to bleed him dry.' Then she had spoken to Mike in New York, who yelled and whooped with delight. Then she stayed up late to phone Renee, who told her to stay strong and that 'husbands come and go'. Jessica snorted at that. _You would know, Renee._

Finally Jessica had phoned Bella, who was the first person to bring up Alice, and she kind of wished that she'd not phoned her sister because of it. She did not want to be reminded that Alice was going to suffer as a result of the divorce. She was confident that she would get custody of Alice in the long run because they always give custody to the mother, don't they? Once she had the money, and alimony, Jessica was confident that Alice would choose her over Edward in the long run, and then Edward would have to pay child support too. Why would Alice want to stay with her boring, fuddy-duddy father when she could have fun with Jessica? They could go shopping, spend weekends in New York, spend summers in St Tropez...the possibilities were endless, once Jess had that money.

Overall, although she wished Alice was with her, Jessica was feeling pretty satisfied about life. She needed to find a lawyer but she knew that Mike would know someone. She did feel a small amount of regret that her father was no longer alive. Corin Stanley had died of leukaemia three months after Jessica married Edward, two months before Alice was born. He had kept his illness from Jessica, paying for expensive experimental treatments in the vain hope that he could win against the aggressive blood cancer, especially because she was pregnant and he didn't want to distress her.

By the time Jessica found out, all treatment options had been exhausted, and Corin had burned through his savings, leaving Jessica with only a minimal inheritance. If he had been alive, Corin would have bent over backwards to help Jessica, his little girl, in whatever way he could. Edward and Alice had a similar relationship, but Jess was still confident that Alice would want to stay with her and Mike. She fell asleep with a smile on her face, thinking of the millions she was going to bleed from Edward in the divorce court.

-cc-

**AN: It's a bit of a short chapter, so it's a good thing there's another one coming straight up!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hello and welcome to the second of two chapters I'm posting tonight. I hope you enjoy them and please consider leaving a review! **

**Disclaimer:**** The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 5**

Two weeks passed. Bella was now nearly fourteen weeks pregnant, and both she and Little One were healthy. She therefore requested a meeting with the HR managers at work to inform them that she was pregnant and would be taking her full entitlement of both paid and unpaid family leave in order to spend time with the baby. She also requested a move to part-time working once she moved.

"Bella, you are legally entitled to the paid leave and the twelve weeks of unpaid leave, but as for working a three day week, well, we're not so sure." The HR manager, Alistair Brown, told her.

"What do you mean?"

"We don't think that you would be able to show the same level of commitment and efficiency working part time. Your role involves multi-centre working, flexible hours and dedication. How can you do that working only three days a week?"

"Why don't you say what you really mean?" Bella replied angrily. "You're wondering how I can do everything I do for the company, when I have a baby!"

"Bella..." Alistair's look said it all, however. Bella had worked for the company for seven years, ever since graduating from Berkeley, and had been a senior financial analyst for five. She had worked her butt off for them, and was livid that her dedication was being questioned.

"If I was a man, you'd never question my commitment!"

"If you were a man, you'd be back to work in a couple of weeks! And you'd work a full week!" He retorted. "Look, we'll help you find a nanny. And can't your mom help out?"

"I don't want my child to spend 5 days a week with a nanny!" Bella cried. "I've been nothing but dedicated since I started working for the company. I've saved you millions, hundreds of millions. I'm just asking to work a couple of days less per week so I can also raise my child. I would be just as committed as before, except that I'd be working on fewer projects."

"We'll have to take it to the Vice-President in charge of HR." Alistair sighed. "You'll hear from his office in the next month."

"Fine. Let's hope he can see my value to the company." Bella replied, getting up.

Bella remained in a fug for the rest of that Thursday. Even her nightly run couldn't clear her head. She was particularly craving Edward's touch. She wanted to feel Edward's arms around her, holding her. She wanted to feel his lips against her hair and against her temple, comforting her. She wanted to see his hands cupping her tummy, feeling their baby.

On her way back, Bella's neighbour, the kind and very elderly Cora, waved her over.

"Hello, Bella dear. You look well."

"Thank you Cora. How are your lilacs doing?"

"Wonderful." Cora replied. Bella was such a sweet girl, she thought, although she worked too hard. "Now, a package arrived for you. I signed for it. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not. That's very nice of you." Cora went inside and retrieved the box.

"Looks like it's from Eng-er-land." She said as she handed it over.

Bella glanced at it and her stomach leapt as she saw the British postmark.

"Looks that way." She replied. "Thank you Cora."

"You're welcome dear." Cora said, slightly disappointed that Bella didn't open the package then and there. She wanted to see what was inside. "Be sure to come round for lemonade sometime soon, OK?"

"Of course." Bella leant down to kiss her on the cheek before heading back to her house.

With a thumping heart, Bella set the box down on her kitchen counter and stared at it for a few minutes. After receiving the flowers from Edward two weeks earlier and the subsequent phone call from Jessica, Bella had not made contact, even though she was desperate just to hear his voice. She wondered if this package was from him too.

Eventually the curiosity got the better of her and Bella opened the package. Inside was a jar of Marmite, a large bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk, which was Bella's favourite chocolate bar from home, PG Tips tea, a jar of traditional pickled onions, a bundle of Cath Kidston London tea towels and a DVD and a CD, each in clear cases. Inside was a letter written in large loopy handwriting, and in sparkly purple pen.

_Hi Aunt Bella!_

_I thought you might be missing some British things so I put together this box for you. I also needed someone to offload on, because things here have been, like, totally crap, since you left. I know I can trust you not to talk to Mum or Gamma Renee about this stuff and I hope you don't mind me bugging you._

_I don't know if my Mum's been in touch but she and Dad are splitting up. Dad and I have moved out of our house in Hampstead and strangely, we've moved into your old apartment. Things are so messed up Aunt B, and I'm so angry with Mum. Dad's not sleeping, he's not eating very much, he's not going to work and he's walking around like a zombie. _

_Dad's asked me not to talk about the details of why it's happened until he meets Mum with the lawyers to hash out the terms of the divorce, but I know I can trust you, even though you're Mum's sister. The thing is, Mum's been cheating on Dad for the past few years with his former best friend Mike, who's really creepy and pervy, and Dad found out. I call Mike The Ri-dork-ulous Shitface, because he's just so stooopid! Mum tried to ring me once and left a voicemail, but I haven't called her back. I can't. She's upset me so much. She broke my Dad, Aunt Bella. She broke my family up. How can I forgive her for that?_

_I miss you, Aunt B. I know that if you were here, things would be better. I know that you'd listen to me and give me a big hug, and let me cry on your shoulder. I'm lucky that I've got Dad, Great Aunt Esme, Great Uncle Carlisle and Jasper though. It's my birthday on Saturday and as it's the start of the Easter holidays, we're all going to the cottage in the Lake District for a while. _

_I really hope we can talk soon, Aunt Bella. I know you're super- busy and stuff but it would be great to hear from you. At the end of this letter I've put my mobile number, Dad's mobile number and the number of the cottage, in case you've forgotten it._

_Love you_

_Alice xxx xxx_

_PS: I hope you like the DVD and CD. The DVD's of me dancing at my latest competition. I nailed it! The CD's some music I thought you'd like. I got Dad to play the pieces on the piano. I don't think you've ever heard him but he rocks at piano-playing. Check it out._

Alice's letter was too much for Bella's hormones. She sat down and let herself sob for a few minutes before putting the food items away. She then picked up the DVD and CD and took them into the living room. She slotted the DVD into the machine, turned the TV on and began to watch.

Alice was in the middle of a formation of five dancers all dressed in flowing black dance dresses. The music, the haunting strains of Lana Del Rey's 'Video Games,' started and Bella was immediately entranced. There was no denying Alice's talent. She shone through the dance. Every movement was precision defined and grace personified. Pride rippled through Bella. Her niece was right when she said she 'nailed it'.

Right at the end, when everyone in the audience was cheering and clapping, someone stood in front of the camera momentarily, and then sat down so his tufts of bronze hair just came into view. Bella gasped and hit the rewind button. She played the moment several times just trying to catch a glimpse of the side of Edward's face and neck. _Edward, I miss you._

Pain, anger, resentment and confusion shot through Bella. On the one hand, she was so mad at Jessica. Throwing away her perfect family life and betraying Edward with his best friend, for years? Bella was appalled, but she also burned with shame. _I slept with my sister's husband. I'm carrying his baby. I'm just as big a slut as Jessica. All I know is that if Edward and Alice were my husband and child, nothing or nobody would be able to turn my head._

Bella dried her eyes and went to make something to eat. After she'd eaten, a pile of scrambled eggs with whole-wheat toast and a fruit salad, she felt strong enough to listen to the CD of Edward playing the piano. The first track was _Clair de Lune._ Bella was instantly assaulted by memories of her time in Edward's arms when she discovered their mutual love of Debussy for the first time. She had turned around and kissed him with all her might, which had led to him kissing her all the way down to... Bella stopped herself from continuing that train of thought. Having gone past the morning sickness phase of her pregnancy, she was now starting the horny-as-hell phase, and Edward was not there to help her with it. In fact, nobody was there to help Bella with any aspect of her pregnancy.

Angela, Bella's best friend from Berkeley, had moved back to her home state of Washington two years earlier, after she and her husband Ben got jobs working for one of the two state Senators as senior legislative assistants. Renee and Phil lived in Carmel, over two hours away. Phil owned a chain of seafood restaurants and bars along the North California coast, with a few in San Francisco, San Jose and Silicon Valley. He was wealthy and adored Renee, who, at age 55, was fifteen years Phil's senior. They were well suited in character. Phil's wealth and youth enabled Renee to avoid the thing she hated the most. Responsibility. Bella remembered when Alice was born. Jessica, whose father had died just a couple of months before, asked Renee to come over from California. Renee had made up a whole set of ridiculous excuses because she couldn't cope with the idea of being a grandmother. Bella, although she loved Renee, knew that she was not a good example of a nurturing and supportive parent.

Bella had other friends, either through work or from Berkeley, but most were still enjoying a 'work hard, play hard' party lifestyle. Bella had never really been into the things they were into-heavy drinking and staying out dancing until dawn, or spending huge amounts of money shopping for frivolous clothes, accessories and pretty things. None of them would be any help during her pregnancy.

There were so many aspects of her California life that Bella loved. She loved the sunshine and mild weather. She loved the friendly town where she lived. She enjoyed her job and the perks of her generous salary. However, she was thousands of miles from anyone who would actually look after or support her. Suddenly, Bella felt very, very alone.

-cc-

Mike returned from New York that same Thursday night and went straight to see Jessica. They had spent the night celebrating the impending divorce and the fortune that they thought Jessica was going to inherit, by drinking Cristal and having loud, noisy sex in every room of the Hampstead house.

Exhausted from their exertions, they were still asleep in bed at 9.30am on Friday morning when the doorbell rang. They ignored it at first but whoever it was would not go away. By the fourth ring Jessica angrily got up, threw on a robe and stomped downstairs.

"What?!" She yelled. Jessica was not a morning person.

"Mrs Jessica Stanley-Cullen?" The courier asked.

"Yes?"

"Please sign here." He thrust an electronic signature thing into her hand. Jessica signed and the courier thrust a stiff cardboard-backed envelope into her hand before leaving.

Jessica padded into the kitchen to make coffee and whilst the kettle was boiling, she opened the envelope.

As she read the papers, the scream she emitted could have woken the dead.

"WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?"

There was a loud thump from upstairs as her yells woke up Mike. He came running down the stairs in just his boxer shorts.

"Babe?"

"Edward's citing my adultery with you as the grounds for divorce! He's named you on the papers!" She shouted, seeing the £3.3 million pounds literally disappearing in front of her eyes.

"NO! How could he have known? We were so careful!"

"I don't know!" Jessica cried. "I never let my mobile phone out of my site! What about you?"

"Me? I haven't said anything to anyone, babe!" Mike replied. "Maybe he doesn't know for sure. Maybe he's just speculating."

"But why would he choose you? You're one of his best friends!"

"Not any more, though." Mike said, a little sadly. Edward had been a good friend to him. If only he hadn't had such a firecracker of a wife.

Jessica kept reading the papers.

"He's petitioning for sole custody of Alice! That BASTARD!"

Jessica had rung Alice's mobile phone and left a voicemail. She'd rung the school, but she'd not gone down there when the school confirmed Alice had been attending. She'd decided to go shopping after her hair appointment and after that, she'd been busy with a few charity activities and lunches. Now she wondered whether she should have made a bit more effort. However, she was sure that Alice must be missing her. Jessica still couldn't believe that Alice would _want_ to stay with Edward over her.

"We need to get you a lawyer, babe! ASAP! I know a firm..."

"They've got to be good, Mikey. They're going to be going up against Edward's aunt, Esme. She's supposed to be fierce in the courtroom."

"They're called Hunter and Evenson. They are total sharks, but you need that right now."

Mike kissed her softly, and then began kissing her neck. Jessica sighed and happened to glance out of the kitchen window to the front garden where a man was hammering a 'For Sale' sign into the front lawn.

"What the...!"

Jessica ran out into the front garden.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? This house isn't for sale! You've got the wrong address!"

"Nope. This is the place." The man showed her his instruction letter. "Look, I don't sell the houses. I just put the signs up where they tell me to put them."

As the man walked away, Jessica saw red.

"Call those Hunter and Evenson people, Mikey. This is war!"

-cc-

The Cullens had arrived at the cottage in the Lake District in time for dinner on Friday evening. Edward felt the memory of Bella's presence in every room and became so desperate to talk to her that he picked up his phone and found her number in his contacts list. If he hadn't been interrupted by Carlisle bringing him a mug of tea, he'd have dialled it, even though he knew the number was disconnected.

Saturday morning brought sunshine over the South Lakes and Alice's fourteenth birthday. After a birthday breakfast of pancakes with cinnamon-baked apples and maple syrup, one of her favourites, they set out for a lake cruise at Windermere and a picnic before heading back to the cottage for a chocolate and orange birthday cake made by Esme.

Edward felt terrible that his little girl's birthday was being shadowed by his divorce from Jessica. Alice was always optimistic. Sunshine radiated from her and she made everyone around her smile. Seeing her tears of anger and frustration had been devastating. She had coped incredibly well with the mess of the separation and the rapid move out of the house in Hampstead. It would have been very easy to buy her a huge array of clothes and make-up and accessories in compensation, but instead, Edward had put together a scrapbook of happy memories. Despite her mother's infidelity and Alice's anger towards her, she had been conceived from love, and Edward always wanted Alice to remember that. Edward had loved Jessica once. It just so happened that their love was finite.

Before he could give her the scrapbook, however, the cottage phone started to ring. Everyone froze for a moment, all wondering if it could be Jessica. She hadn't yet made contact but they were all expecting a phone call because of Alice's birthday. Even though they hadn't told her of their trip to the Lakes, Jessica could have worked it out.

Tentatively Esme reached for the phone.

"Hello?"

"_Hi is that Esme?" _A sweet, soft voice asked. Esme recognised it instantly and couldn't help but briefly make eye contact with Edward.

"Yes. Is that Bella?" Edward's green eyes widened and he almost choked.

"_Yes. How are you?" _

"I'm OK, thanks. And you?"

"_Great, thank you. I was wondering if I could speak to the birthday girl?"_

"Yay! She rang! She rang!" Alice was bouncing up and down in anticipation of talking to her aunt.

"She's dying to talk to you! Here she is." Esme laughed, before adding, "Glad you're...well, Bella."

"_Thanks Esme."_ Esme handed the phone to Alice who practically snatched it out of her hand

"Aunt Bella! You called! I got the e-voucher, thank you so much! I love Benefit make-up!"

"_You're welcome!"_

"Did you get the package I sent?"

"_I did indeed! That was so sweet of you! You shouldn't be sending me presents when it's your birthday, sweetie!" _

"Don't be silly Aunt B! Is it true that you can't get Dairy Milk in America? I thought..."

While Alice chatted with Bella, Esme took in the stricken look on Edward's face.

"Carlisle, love, why don't you and Jasper collect more wood from outside and get the shopping out of the car?"

Carlisle and Jasper knew that they had plenty of wood, but didn't argue with her. They knew that she needed to talk to Edward alone although they didn't know exactly why.

"Of course, my dear. Come on Jasper."

Once they were out of earshot, Esme turned to Edward.

"Are you OK?" She asked quietly, mindful of the fact that Alice was at the other end of the kitchen.

"Not really. Aunt Esme, I miss her so much." Edward replied, just as quiet.

"We've got the ball rolling, Edward. You just need to hold on for a few months."

"I know. It's so hard. If I had known that this was what being in love was meant to feel like..." Edward couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence. He turned back to Alice, who had a big grin on her face as she talked to Bella.

"...So, yeah, it's been rubbish, but I'm OK. And I'm so much better now I've spoken to you." Alice was saying.

"_You know you can talk to me anytime, sweetie. I might be your mum's sister, and I know you're angry with her, but I'm always, always here for you. I love you Alice. Even if it's the middle of the night, call me."_

"Oh Aunt B!" Alice's eyes watered at the love Bella conveyed. "I love you too. I'll text you and I'll email too. And I will call you if I need to talk to someone."

"_Good."_

"Say, Aunt B?"

"_Yes, sweetie?"_

"Could you talk to Dad?"

Bella bit her lip to stop herself from gasping out loud. Edward's head whipped up so fast he almost gave himself whiplash.

"_Err..."_

"I think it might help him to talk to someone who's not a Cullen. Someone who knows Mum really well." Before Bella could protest, Alice was calling Edward.

"Dad, come talk to Aunt B." Edward froze.

"I don't know..."

"Dad, you need to talk to Aunt Bella. She's a great listener and she won't take sides. Now, don't kill me but I wrote to her and told her what was going on. She understands. You can't keep walking round like a zombie. It's not like you can talk to The Rid... um, Mike or any of your employees."

Edward glanced at Esme, who nodded and whispered,

"Just a couple of minutes. No pre-nup chat."

"Fine, I'll talk to her."

"Yay!"

"Alice, let's give Dad some privacy and go start the fire with Carlisle and Jasper."

Alice handed the phone to her father and skipped off out of the kitchen with Esme.

"Bella?"

"_Edward." _She sighed, melting at his low, velvety voice, tinged with apprehension.

"Angel."

"_Baby."_

"How are you?"

"_I'm OK. I miss you every moment of every day, but I'm OK."_

"Me too, angel. God, me too. How's um...?"

"_Little One is doing great. Fourteen weeks today." _Edward could hear the smile in her voice. She would be a fantastic mother.

"I can't believe it. I'm so happy about it."

"_You are? I thought you might be pissed off."_

"Pissed off? No way! It's a miracle, one I love. Unconditionally and forever. Just the way I feel about you. I love you, angel."

"_I love you too Edward...this is agony."_

"I want to be with you, Bella. So much. But the divorce makes things really complicated and until it's over..."

"_Edward, I understand. Here's the thing. I love you. And in an ideal world, the divorce would come through quickly and when the dust settled, we could be together with Alice just like you said in your note..."_

"I want that so much!" Edward interrupted.

"_I know baby! But with things being so complicated, I just don't think it's going to happen for us. Little One and I will be OK, just the two of us. But as I said, you are the only man I will ever love."_

"Bella...you don't want me?"

"_Edward, of course I want you. Only ever you. It's you or nobody, baby. But even after you and Jess divorce, it will hurt too many people if we get together. I don't condone what she's done, not at all, but at the end of the day, she's my sister."_

"Your half-sister." Edward couldn't help but correct her, bitterness and disappointment creeping into his voice.

"_She and I were born from the same womb, Edward. She's my family. I've already betrayed her once by sleeping with you. I can't do it again."_

"Bella..." Esme popped her head into the kitchen. Her heart broke to see Edward's forlorn expression.

"_I'm glad I got to hear your voice, albeit briefly. I hope you can understand my position. I love you, I want you so much, but I can't let myself believe in a happy ever after for us."_

"I understand. Thank you for calling. You've made Alice's day. I appreciate how hard this must be for you, being so torn between your sister, your niece, me and the baby."

"_Extremely. I wish I could think of a way to make things work for us, but right now, I just can't see it. Not without hurting my family, including Alice. She adores me now, but that would change if I were to be her stepmother."_

"I see what you mean, but I-I..." Edward was about to burst into tears. "I have to go. Esme's here."

"_OK. Love you, baby."_

"Right back at you...angel." With a deep breath each, they hung up.

Esme was right there with a hug for Edward as he quietly sobbed into her shoulder.

"I'm sorry to impose restrictions on your contact with Bella, Edward."

"It was the right thing to do. She...she won't be with me."

"What?"

"She won't be with me because despite the fact that she loves me as much as I love her, she says that she already betrayed her sister once, and even though Jess and I are getting divorced, we'll never be able to be together without it being considered disloyal."

"I see her point. Does she know your exact reasons for divorce?"

"Yes. Alice told her, although I don't think she know about the pre-nup. Even then, she's staying loyal to Jessica. The irony is, Jess would never do the same for her."

"Bella probably knows that deep down, but family means a lot more to her than it does Jessica. Bella's fiercely faithful to those she loves." Esme replied.

She thought back to her long talks with Bella over Christmas, when Bella told her about her upbringing in Manchester, about her mother and step-father in California and a little about her relationship with Jessica and Alice. Bella, despite being abandoned by Renee, despite having a butch policeman father who had no idea how to raise a baby girl, never said anything negative about anyone. Her love and desire for Edward must have been incredibly powerful for her to go against her steadfast, principled character to be with him that one night they were together.

"How is the pregnancy going?" She asked.

"She's well and so is Little One. That's what she calls our baby."

"So what happens next?"

Edward considered his aunt's question for a moment.

"I'm going to get the divorce first. Then I'm going to see about changing Bella's mind. Although I have no idea how on earth to go about it."

-cc-

**AN: Eeek! It looks bad right now but... those of you that know me and my stuff know that I'm a HEA all the way kind of girl! **

**I said this story would be seven chapters but it's going to be more. Probably more like 12. **

**Please let me know what you think by hitting the review button! Thank you **

**CC xxx**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: OMG (to use a favourite phrase of Alice) you guys rock! Thank you so much for adding me to favourites, for following me and for reviewing! I'm sorry that I've been rubbish and not replied to any reviews, but as I said last time, real life has been a bi**h this past couple of weeks. I have read every single one, however, and I'm so touched! **

**I normally post new chapters for this story on Wednesdays but as I'm posting for my other story 'The Tide is High' today and this chapter was ready, I thought I'd give you a treat. I'm aiming to still post on Wednesday, depending on work and family stuff.**

**This chapter's mainly focussed on Edward and Jessica's divorce negotiations. I am not a lawyer and have never been through a divorce so all information on proceedings comes courtesy of Wikipedia, Google and my imagination.**

**Disclaimer:**** The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 6**

Edward was pacing nervously in his aunt's office. He was seeing his estranged wife for the first time since that weekend, five weeks earlier, when Bella left and he had found out about Jessica's infidelity. Jessica had hired a lawyer and Edward and Esme were meeting them for a collaborative discussion of terms with the hope that they could avoid going to court. Esme had filed the divorce papers without suggesting that Edward was prepared to compromise a little with regards to money. She wanted to see what argument or defence the harpy and her scummy lawyers put forward. Jessica had hired Hunter and Evenson, and Esme was familiar with them, too familiar for her liking.

Esme burned at the thought of her ex, Charles Evenson, walking into her building. He had been her first boyfriend. They had met at law school and he had been vile. She put up with two years of his possessiveness, condescension, derision and controlling personality until she met Carlisle, who became her friend and showed her that she deserved to be treated with love, honour and respect. She found the courage to dump Charles and not long after that, she and Carlisle confessed their mutual love and adoration for each other. They married a year to the day of their first date, three days after Carlisle's graduation from medical school.

Over the years, she and Charles had crossed paths a few times, mainly at social events when she had Carlisle by her side, supporting her. He had tried to belittle her at first, but when she didn't rise to the bait, he tended to ignore her. Hunter and Evenson tended to do more personal injury work, which Esme detested; Esme specialised in estates, inheritance and family law. This was the first time that she was facing Charles for a case.

Esme suppressed her apprehension. She was no longer Esme Platt, meek and mild law student. She was Mrs Esme Anne Cullen, one of the best regarded lawyers in London, the head of a large firm at a prestigious address, with a slew of awards. Charles Evenson had had complaints made about his practice three times in five years and ran a tiny firm with rundown offices on the edge of town. Her nephew needed her right now.

"Mrs Cullen. Mrs Jessica Cullen is here with her representative." Lucy's voice came through the intercom.

"Thank you Lucy. Please show them into the conference room and offer them some drinks. We will be through in ten minutes." Esme replied.

She turned to Edward.

"You ready?"

Edward breathed in and out deeply.

"As I'll ever be." He said.

"Just remember, don't rise to anything Jessica or her lawyer might say. Let me do the talking until I ask you to say something, and when I do, keep your answers emotionless and brief. State facts, not opinions. I know you're prepared to give her some money in exchange for custody of Alice and a quick divorce, but she doesn't know that yet. You need to play the hurt, innocent husband."

"Got it." Edward was generally pretty quiet and would do anything to avoid confrontation, although had a short fuse to his temper sometimes. He knew Jessica and knew that she would try to ignite it and turn things around to make her look like the victim. Therefore he was more than happy to do what his aunt suggested.

Jessica was sat nervously waiting in the conference room next to her lawyer, James Hunter.

"Now, Jess. Do you remember the plan?"

"Find out what Edward knows, undermine it and play the neglected wife card. If that doesn't work, attack the pre-nuptial agreement's validity." Jessica repeated.

She was delighted with how much time and effort James had spent with her in the run up to the meeting. He had made her hopeful that she would get what she wanted, and perhaps even more, despite the terms of the pre-nup. She wanted a piece of the Cullen fortune, a big piece. James had reassured her that, unlike on TV, pre-nuptial agreements in the UK were not legally binding. Courts merely took them into consideration when agreeing the terms of a couple's divorce. If Jessica could undermine the agreement, then she might have a chance at the cash.

Edward had put their Hampstead house up for sale, and Jessica couldn't do anything about it because her name wasn't on the deeds. When she tried to stop the estate agent from conducting viewings, one of Esme's associate lawyers phoned her, telling her that if she remained obstructive, Edward would sue her for illegal occupancy of a property.

Furthermore, she found that Edward, when he moved out, had taken out exactly half the contents of their combined bank account, stopped the overdraft facility and stopped his payments into it. Jessica had continued spending for a few weeks without knowing, and now the account only held a few thousand pounds. Edward had also stopped all the credit cards and store account cards that he paid for, so she couldn't shop or go out with her friends. In her frustration, she had moved out of the Hampstead property herself, and was staying with Mike in his two-bedroom apartment in Greenwich, which was nowhere near as luxurious.

"Good girl." James told her, running the back of his finger over her hand.

Jessica smiled up at her lawyer. He was about the same age as her, tall and quite skinny with long, fine blond hair tied in a ponytail, and a tribal tattoo that ran from his left wrist, all the way up his arm and shoulder to the base of his throat. Jessica thought he had that sexy, rangy rock star look about him. James Hunter looked at Jessica and thought one thing. _Potential cash cow. _There was a reason why Charles had given him the lead on the case. Jessica would be putty in James's hands.

Charles Evenson was planning to come too, eager to take the opportunity to fight against his ex Esme. He'd always harboured some resentment towards her for being the only girl to dare to dump him and because she had got the illustrious career he thought he was entitled to, but was not prepared to work for. However, Charles Evenson had succumbed to his first love, whisky, the night before, and his hangover was too great for him to be of any use or effectiveness at the meeting.

Esme and Edward entered the boardroom exactly ten minutes after Jessica and James had sat down, along with Tia McKenzie, an independent mediator who was coming in to oversee and chair the meeting, and an administrator who would take minutes. Esme was surprised when she saw James Hunter sitting next to Jessica and not Charles Evenson but she didn't have time to dwell.

"Good morning. I'm Tia McKenzie, the chair and mediator of this meeting. For the record, please could the petitioner's representative state her name and her client's full name."

"My name is Esme Cullen and I am representing the petitioner, Edward Anthony Cullen."

"And the respondent's representative? Please do the same."

"My name is James Hunter and I am representing the respondent, Jessica Jane Cullen, née Stanley."

"Thank you." Tia said. "Now, Mr Cullen is petitioning for divorce on the grounds of adultery. Is that correct?"

"Yes Mrs McKenzie." Esme replied. "Edward has reason, several reasons, in fact, to believe that Jessica has been having an extra-marital affair for at least three years with a former colleague and friend of his, Michael Newton."

"Does Mrs Jessica Cullen agree to the divorce on the terms of adultery?"

James and Jessica glanced at each other. They, along with Mike, had gone through diaries, emails, and mobile phone records, and compared it to Edward's timetable. He was a man of routine and planned everything. If something came up, he would always tell Jessica and Alice straight away. Jessica hadn't had any such message of phone call from Edward for several weeks before the weekend he left with Alice. Jessica had gone through her emails. She and Mike mainly communicated through phone calls and texts so there was very little traceable there. In fact, the only thing that they thought looked suspicious was the high number of calls from Jessica's mobile phone to Mike's and the high number of phone calls from Mike's office to the Hampstead house's phone. Jessica and Mike decided that Edward must have seen the itemised phone bills and concluded that they were having an affair based on them, and that he decided to instigate the divorce as a result. Jessica and James planned to argue that the evidence was circumstantial, and in fact she and Mike were just friends who just happened to text each other a lot.

"No, Mrs McKenzie." James stated confidently. "My client denies adultery with Mr Newton and therefore refutes the grounds for divorce. However she would agree to the divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences." That way, Jessica would have a claim to Edward's assets.

"Mrs Cullen?" Tia turned to Edward and Esme. "What is your response?"

"It is surprising that Jessica refutes the grounds for divorce given the high level of evidence confirming the extent of her affair."

"High level of evidence?" James scoffed. "A few phone bills..."

"Three years of phone bills showing over thirty contacts per day. A bit excessive for 'just friends.'"

"Mr Cullen has been married to my client for thirteen years. He must know that she is a prolific user of text messaging and social media..."

"Besides, if you think that my client based his decision on just the phone bills, you are sadly mistaken."

Jessica, who had been looking at the floor in an attempt to seem demure, looked up sharply before glancing at James worriedly. James stared her down briefly and she returned to looking demure. Tia saw their little exchange and knew instantly that Edward Cullen was right about his wife's infidelity.

"Why don't you lay your cards on the table, Mrs Cullen?" James replied coolly.

"I intend to. Edward, please explain to everyone what happened on the afternoon of Friday 9th March?" Esme asked, watching as Jessica's face went pale.

"Yes. I returned home from work early because I had a throbbing headache. I headed upstairs to change but when I entered the bedroom I used to share with Jessica, I saw her _in flagrante_ with Michael Newton. Obviously they did not notice my presence. I backed out of the room and quietly left the house."

"Mr Hunter?"

"I would like to ask my client to respond. Jessica?" He nodded towards his client, indicating that she should give the statement they'd prepared in case Esme and Edward pulled something like this out the bag. Jessica nodded and looked up, glancing around the room from under her lashes in an attempt to look sweet.

"It's been very difficult being married to Edward. He's always prioritised work over family, and has shown less and less interest in me over the years. It became a lonely existence and when Michael started showing interest, well, eventually, I succumbed. I'm not proud of it but I'm a woman at the end of the day. It hurts being rejected by your husband." Jessica wiped her eyes to try to garner more sympathy.

Edward felt his temper start to rise. He started to raise his hand to run through his hair but Esme clamped her hand down on his wrist. She did not want Jessica to know that she had got to Edward.

"If I recall correctly, when Edward set up his new business and informed you at the launch party that he was intending to work part-time so that he could spend more time with you, you said, in front of a room full of friends and family, 'Don't bother. I don't want you hanging around the house all day cramping my style.'"

"I was drunk." Jessica snapped. James shot her a look to shut her up. He was not happy with the way things were going.

"One mistaken encounter does not make an affair. My client made a mistake but instead of talking about it, Mr Cullen left the marital home, kept my client away from her daughter and instigated divorce."

Esme turned to Edward and nodded for him to respond.

"The turn of their conversation indicated that it was not their first encounter."

"Edward, please explain your decision to leave the marital home so suddenly that weekend." Esme said.

"After I left, Alice, our daughter, came home early from school because of Teacher Training Half Day. She also heard the encounter between Jessica and Michael, and a conversation that followed. She was very upset and came to see Esme. I eventually came to see Esme too and in her office, Alice tearfully admitted that she had known about Jessica's relationship with Michael for nearly two years."

"What happened next?" Esme urged.

"Alice was distraught. She had kept the knowledge to herself in order to protect me and to preserve our family life, but after the conversation she heard she was confused, hurt and angry, and told us everything. She refused to go back to our family house in Hampstead and she was adamant that she didn't want to talk to Jessica." Edward paused and swallowed hard to deal with the pain of seeing his daughter devastated by her mother's actions. "We moved out whilst Jessica was away for one of her bi-monthly spa breaks."

There was silence as everybody absorbed Edward's statement. Jessica looked at Edward properly for the first time since he walked into the meeting. Looking back at her, she saw that his eyes were reddened, his cheekbones more prominent and his skin was pale. He looked broken, but she knew that it wasn't because of her. She realised that his cold, uncharacteristically distant way of instigating the divorce was not because her actions had hurt him. It was because she had hurt his child.

James finally broke the silence.

"Alice is a minor. It is very possible that she misunderstood the context of..."

"Alice is fourteen, not four, Mr Hunter. She has an IQ of 160 and could critique Harper Lee's 'To Kill a Mockingbird' to university standard at the age of ten." Esme interrupted. She had given her great-niece the book, her own favourite, for her tenth birthday. Whilst Jessica had snorted and told Alice not to become a tomboy like Scout, Esme and Edward had listened in awe as Alice devoured the novel in a day and proceeded to dissect it down to the tiniest details. If she didn't become a professional dancer, she would make an excellent lawyer.

"We have already documented Alice's statement and should divorce proceedings get as far as the divorce court, she has already been independently verified as a credible witness." Esme countered.

She still had the recording of Jessica and Mike up her sleeve but wasn't ready to give that knowledge away yet. Edward had asked her to only use it if absolutely necessary because he didn't want Alice to lose out on a relationship with Jessica if that was what she wanted, further down the line. If Jessica found out that Alice had recorded the conversation with Mike, she would never forgive her, and would likely reject her completely.

Esme tentatively agreed. She considered the recording as collateral. The recording wasn't just evidence that Jessica had committed adultery. Attempted manipulation of a post-nuptial agreement could be considered as intent to commit fraud and deception, a criminal offence, and Esme was prepared to threaten to press charges if Jessica put up barriers to the divorce on Edward's terms.

James leant in to whisper to Jessica.

"We're going to have to go to plan B." He murmured.

"Fine. Do it." Jessica agreed. She was getting desperate. James nodded.

"Very well. Mrs Jessica Cullen will not contest the divorce on the grounds of adultery."

Esme nodded and stole a glance at Edward. A flicker of relief washed over his face before he resumed his calm facade.

"Now, onto the next part of the meeting. Division of property, assets and money." Tia McKenzie continued. "I understand that there is a prenuptial agreement."

"Yes, Mrs McKenzie. The agreement states that should divorce proceed on the grounds of adultery committed by Jessica Cullen, she is not entitled to alimony or any claim on Edward Cullen's assets. The only financial support that she would be entitled to would be child support, but given that Edward is petitioning for full custody of Alice, that appears to be a moot point."

"Mr Hunter?"

"The prenuptial agreement was drawn up when my client was pregnant. She signed it under duress and I'm sure that I don't need to tell Mrs Cullen that a prenuptial agreement is not legally binding in the United Kingdom. Therefore I propose that we renegotiate with regards to the assets, properties and monies, in order to reach a settlement that better reflects fourteen years of marriage and my client's role in running Mr Cullen's household." James stated smugly.

Before Edward could say or do anything, his aunt's hand bore down on his knee. She needed him to stay impassive. She glanced at him and widened her eyes. _Please stay quiet. I have this in the bag._

"Mr Hunter is correct. A prenuptial agreement is not legally binding except in very specific circumstances. However, when the prenuptial agreement is signed again after the marriage and notarised by two independent witnesses, it becomes a _post-_nuptial agreement." Esme enjoyed the look of horror on James Hunter's face as he realised that he was out of options.

"What the..."

Esme motioned for Lucy, who was sat at the far end of the conference table next to the minutes-taker. Lucy placed copies of the documents in question in front of Jessica and James, Tia McKenzie and Edward and Esme. Sure enough, the agreement had been re-signed by Edward, Jessica and two independent witnesses on Alice's first birthday.

"I'm sure that I don't need to tell Mr Hunter that a postnuptial agreement, unlike the prenuptial, _is_ legally binding in the UK." Esme added.

"What the fuck?!" Jessica suddenly exploded and stood up.

"Mrs Cullen, please do not use profanity..."

"You told me that the pre-nup wasn't worth the paper it's written on!" She yelled at James.

"Well, you never fucking told me that you signed it again!" James yelled back, standing up too.

"I didn't think it was relevant!"

"Well you were wrong!"

"MRS CULLEN!" Tia's interruption in James and Jessica's escalating argument stopped them in their tracks. "Both of you, sit down!" They did as she told. "Good. Now, we are going to continue with our discussions calmly. Let's move on to the care of your daughter, Alice Elizabeth Cullen."

"My client is currently the sole guardian of Alice. As she is fourteen and very sensible, he has let her decide how much contact she wants with her mother. Currently Alice is refusing any contact with Jessica Cullen and has requested to stay with Edward. Therefore Edward will be petitioning for sole custody with visitation at Alice's choosing." Esme responded.

"Mr Hunter?"

"My client had stated that she wished to petition for sole custody too." He replied uncertainly, not entirely sure how to proceed given the recent revelations.

"If Jessica does not contest or delay the divorce and agrees to Edward's petition for sole custody, he is prepared to offer her a small settlement, a lump sum to assist her in purchasing a property of her own, as a gesture of goodwill." Esme told them, holding back that Edward was prepared to give her alimony to see if Jessica would settle without it. She wanted him to be able to cut as many ties as possible.

"What kind of lump sum?" Jessica blurted out.

"Jessica!" James admonished her sharply. His game plan was well and truly wrecked. Jessica was just trying to get whatever she could.

"Fifty-thousand pounds. It's enough for a house deposit."

"Not in Hampstead or anywhere decent!" She exclaimed.

"It's better than nothing." Esme replied calmly.

James, who had been observing Edward closely and had been wondering whether the pain in his features was more than just the pain of divorce, leaned in to whisper into his client's ear.

"Why is he so keen to get the divorce over with?" Jessica shrugged in response. The last thing she was thinking about was Edward. "I think there might be something else going on. Accept his offer. If we come across anything we can still stall the divorce right up until the decree absolute goes through." James's instincts told him that Edward Cullen was hiding something, something big. He knew the look of someone keeping a dirty secret and he was determined to get to the bottom of Edward's.

"OK." Jessica whispered back.

"My client will accept the offer."

"I'm glad we have been able to come to an agreement." Tia said, happy to be able to draw things to a close. "Let's get the paperwork sorted, shall we?"

-cc-

That night, Edward made his way to Covent Garden to collect Alice after her first performance with the Royal Ballet. She had been invited to dance with the Royal Ballet in a three-week run of a ballet version of Dangerous Liaisons. She took classes at their Academy on Saturdays, as well as her daily practice sessions and classes at a smaller school that was associated with the prestigious ballet company. The company director had been very impressed with her skill and flair, and offered her the opportunity.

It was an exhausting schedule for Alice though. She had to finish school in Hammersmith every day at 3pm and race across London to the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, where the Royal Ballet was based, to be ready for pre-show rehearsals and warm-ups at 4.30pm, followed by the performance itself at 7.30. Even though the timetable was very hectic, it had been an honour for Alice to be asked and one she could not turn down. There was a good possibility that the Royal Ballet School would accept her into their full-time programme when she was sixteen if she performed well at this and other forthcoming invitational performances.

As he approached the stage door, he saw Alice outside, talking to a few of the other dancers, all dressed to go home.

"Alice?" Edward called.

"Ali, who's that?"

"He's hot!"

"Dude, that's my dad! Gross!" She cried. "See yous!" She kissed them all on each cheek before skipping over to her father.

"Hey, princess."

"Hi Dad!" She let him wrap his arm around her shoulders in front of her friends, something she'd not normally let him do, but she knew he'd have had a tough day today.

"Hungry? Or did you manage to have something other than Red Bull and cereal bars?"

"I'm starving! Can we have noodles, please?"

"Sure. Wagamama?"

"You know it!"

Five minutes later, they were sat at one end of the long tables in the Covent Garden branch of the Japanese noodle restaurant.

"So are you gonna tell me about how it went today?" Alice asked, once they'd ordered.

"It went OK. She agreed to the divorce and she's not petitioning for custody. Now it's just a question of paperwork. We've filed the first set, and have to wait for the court to approve the divorce and send us a decree nisi. Once we have that, we have to wait six weeks before I can apply for the decree absolute, which is the final document that says we're divorced." Edward explained.

Alice was quiet.

"Did she ask you about me?" She said eventually. Edward was taken aback. In all his stress over the meeting, he'd forgotten momentarily that Alice was going through a divorce too, and felt terrible about it.

"Um..."

"She didn't, did she?" Alice whispered, unsurprised but still wounded by the thought that Jessica didn't care enough about her to enquire about her only daughter.

"It was a stressful afternoon. She had a lot on her mind." Edward wasn't sure why he was defending his estranged spouse but it had a lot to do with his daughter's pained expression.

"Don't do that. Don't defend her. It's best I know where I stand." Alice said, suppressing the urge to bawl and finding anger instead.

"Alice, your mother will always be your mother. She loves you. She wanted to petition for full custody until Aunt Esme made it clear that you wanted to stay with me."

"It's been a month since we moved out, Dad. She left one voicemail when she got back from that spa hotel, and my headmistress told me that she called the school. She hasn't emailed, she hasn't sent me a Facebook message and she hasn't come down to the school to try to catch me. If it was you, you'd have phoned the police if you couldn't get hold of me for half a day."

Edward didn't have a comeback to his daughter's reply. She was right.

"Alice..."

"It's OK, Dad. I needed some space from Mum after that day and I took it. This is the consequence. Whether she realises it or not, she's pissed with me for not being there to play her little shopping side-kick, ego-booster and little ballerina-shaped status symbol. That's why she's not tried harder to contact or find me."

Once again, Edward was amazed by his daughter's ability to understand implicitly the situation that was going on around her. He'd always found it irksome the way Jessica treated Alice like her plaything rather than be her mother, leaving the true parenting to him, even though he'd been the one with the full-time job. However, he had no idea that Alice was so aware of it. Despite that and everything Jessica had done, he did not want Alice to lose out on having a relationship with her.

"Maybe, when you're ready, you could write or email your mum, to explain why you needed to distance yourself and what you'd like to happen next."

Alice considered her father's suggestion. She did miss Jessica, even though she was a crap parent.

"If I decided to email her tonight, would that be OK?"

"Whatever you want to do is OK with me, princess."

Their noodles arrived then. Alice busied herself with her Yaki Soba, whilst Edward did the same with his seafood Ramen. By the time they'd eaten, Alice had made her mind up. She was going to email Jessica.

-cc-

**AN: What did you think? I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think! **

**If you're looking for something to read, may I be so bold as to suggest one of my other stories?**

**The Tide is High (WIP- about two chapters from the end): Remove the gaps to follow the link.**

_**Bella watches her close friend Edward go from one relationship to the next, never managing to find the right time or words to tell him that she loves him. Will she ever get the chance? When will it be her turn? M for lang/lemons. Mostly BPOV with occasional EPOV in later chapters.**_

** www. fanfiction s/ 8070890/ 1/ The-Tide-is-High**

**It has a companion piece- High Stays the Tide (also a WIP): Remove the gaps to follow the link.**

_**EPOV Companion piece to 'The Tide is High.' Edward Cullen. International corporate lawyer, serial monogamist, stress-head. Can he get over his issues to capture true love, or will he settle for the poor imitation? This story probably won't make sense unless you're reading 'The Tide is High' as well, so please give them both a try! Rated M for language/probable lemons.**_

** www. fanfiction s / 8179824/ 1/ High-Stays-The-Tide**

**The Sun Rises Every Day (complete): Remove the gaps to follow the link.**

_**First ever fanfic! AH. Edward & his family have made multiple sacrifices after a tragedy. Just as Edward's ambitions start to come true, he meets Bella, whose ambitions have led to the demise of her hopes for a family life. Rated M for later chapters. Mixed POV.**_

** www. fanfiction s / 7248892/1/ The-Sun-Rises-Every-Day**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hi everyone and thank you so much for reviewing, adding me to favourites and for following. Oh, and hello to anyone reading this story for the first time. Once again I'm sorry for not replying to reviews, but please believe that I've read them all and am touched by your enthusiasm. Plenty of you hating on Jessica. Good! She's a bitch! LOL!**

**My real life craziness is easing off, so I should be posting again next Wednesday. I probably won't have time to reply to reviews again but will most likely be posting a Chapter 8 teaser on Fictionators and .com.**

**I don't speak Spanish, so the Spanish in the text comes courtesy of Google Translate.**

**Disclaimer:**** The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 7**

Whilst Edward and Esme had been tangling with Jessica and the shifty James Hunter, Bella's presence had been requested in the office of the Vice-President in charge of Human Resources at Volturi Industries, where Bella had worked for so many years. She nervously made her way over, gently rubbing Little One. She was now sixteen weeks pregnant and just starting to show. She had told Kim, but none of her other colleagues knew. This meeting was inevitable given Bella's request for part-time working and her confrontation with Alistair Brown, and Bella hoped that the VP would be more understanding.

Since speaking to Alice and Edward two weeks earlier, Bella had been in regular contact with Alice, but had not spoken to Edward again. She knew from Alice that Edward had filed for divorce and that Jessica now had a lawyer, and she was determined to keep herself as separate as possible whilst still supporting her niece. Bella was trying very hard to let go of her fantasies of a life and a home with Edward; she would not let herself entertain the possibility in real life. It had torn her heart apart to tell Edward that, and to hear the heartbreak in his voice. Nevertheless, she worked on the basis that she was going to be a single parent.

Bella had very strong ideas about how she wanted to parent her baby. She had experienced several different parenting styles during her childhood, from Renee's laissez-faire permissiveness to her Grandma Swan's authoritarian and slightly cold manner, to her father Charlie's quiet but firm stance, to her stepmother Sue's warm, nurturing and positive style. Bella wanted to be a mother to her child, not just a provider. She wanted to be there for the first smile, the first step, the first word... the first everything.

"Ah, Miss Swan. Come in." Amun Andrews, the VP, said. He was a short man in his early 50s, balding with a shiny face, dressed in an ill-fitting grey suit and olive green tie. "Have a seat."

"Thank you sir."

"Now, I understand that you are looking to reduce your working hours when you return from your family leave."

"That's right." Bella replied. "I would like to work the equivalent of three days a week."

"And you are not prepared to use the company's crèche facilities or a nanny?"

"Yes, but not for the whole week. I'm going to be a single parent. I have to work but I would like to spend some quality time with my child. I am sure that I can offer the same level of commitment to the company, but would just have to take on fewer projects at the same time."

"Who would look after your child if you had to go on a business trip?"

"I would have to bring the baby with me."

"Would that not be difficult? To have the baby with you whilst working? Surely it would disrupt whatever project you were trying to complete?"

"I would bring the nanny with me. But also, I would try to pick projects that did not require travel."

"But that will not always be possible. Sometimes we will have to designate work to you and we cannot make concessions for your home life."

Bella's patience was starting to wear thin but she gritted her teeth.

"Yes sir, but from past experience, those times have been relatively few and far between."

"Still...we cannot approve your request for working fewer hours at this time." Amun Andrews replied coolly. "After your family leave entitlement, we will expect you to return to a full working week."

"I see." Bella replied quietly. "Very well." She stood up.

"I knew you'd understand..."

"You'll have my resignation letter by the end of the day."

"What?! You can't..." Suddenly Amun Andrews panicked. Not knowing Bella, he underestimated her determination to do what she thought was best for her child. Isabella Swan was one of the darlings of the company. He had been supposed to keep her working full time, not facilitate her resignation. His bluff had well and truly been called.

"I can and I am going to. Consider this my verbal statement of one months' notice. I am also owed two weeks of vacation that I will be taking prior to my departure. "

Leaving Amun Andrews spluttering and going red in the face, Bella spun on her heel and walked out of the room.

-cc-

_To: Jessica Jane Cullen_

_From: Alice C._

_Subject: Hello_

_Hi Mum_

_By now you'll know, from the divorce negotiation meeting, that I know about your affair with Mike, and that I've known for a long time. I tried so hard to keep it from Dad because I didn't want him to be hurt. I thought that you were just a bit bored and frustrated, and that when Dad got going in the business, you and he would spend more time together and you'd dump Mike (who's a total loser, jsyk). _

_I'll never forget the broken look on Dad's face when he came out of our house that day. I felt so guilty about it, but I realise now that it wasn't my fault. It was yours. I was trying to keep our family together, but I was never going to be able to stop you and your behaviour from tearing it apart. Hearing the cold and callous way you spoke about Dad, I couldn't believe that you were the mother that I held dear my whole life. _

_I couldn't face going back to the house. I'm probably going to need brain bleach (or at least some sort of therapy) to get rid of the memory of hearing you and Mike go at it and your dirty talk afterwards (so gross!). Dad has been walking around like a zombie in our apartment. I know you think he doesn't love you, but he is broken hearted. I'm kind of broken hearted too. We were a nice family. We won't ever be that again._

_At the end of the day, however, you are always going to be my mother. Whilst I am hurt that you've not made any effort to contact me apart from one voicemail (yelling 'where the fuck are you and your dad?' isn't the best way to get people to call you, btw) and calling my school, I am over the initial shock and if you want to talk, I'm prepared to listen. _

_I'm dancing with the Royal Ballet for the next three weeks so I'm on a tight schedule, but if you want to meet, I'll make time. _

_Alice_

-cc-

A week had passed since Bella's meeting with Amun Andrews. He had tried to call her back in and even tried to refuse her resignation, but Bella held her ground. Once Bella made the decision to quit her job, she suddenly felt a whole lot lighter. Financially it was not a wise move; she would no longer be entitled to any paid maternity leave. However, it didn't particularly matter anymore. That one decision had led to several other decisions, which had culminated in one big one.

Bella was going back to England.

California no longer felt like home, not when she'd left her heart and her true love back across the Atlantic. Bella's house in Berkeley was on the market, and she was selling her Toyota Prius to Kim when she left. Bella found herself desperate to return home. She didn't care about the cold weather or the rain. She missed England. She missed British humour and Marks and Spencer. A few of her colleagues at work had found out and had been outwardly pleasant about it but Bella had overheard their incredulity that she would want to leave California and her six-figure salary behind.

Bella needed to be around people who loved her, who would support her and who would be there for her when she gave birth, who would help her choose things like cribs and breast pumps and baby clothes. Bella missed her father Charlie, her stepmother Sue, her step-sister Leah, who was also twenty-nine, and her step-brother Seth, who was twenty-two. She wanted to reconnect with her old gang of friends from school, Emmett, Jake, Pete, Katie, Emily and Sam. Most of them still lived in and around Manchester. She kept in touch with all of them. They would be delighted that she was going to be a mother, despite the fact that she was going to be a single parent, and they would be respectful of her decisions. Therefore, she was moving back to Manchester, not London.

Bella had decided not to work until Little One was at least a year old, and would be living off her savings. She had plenty but it would go much further in Manchester than in California. Although Bella worked in a high-powered job, she was a simple girl at heart. She saved at least half her monthly pay cheque each month because she invested wisely, didn't have an expensive shopping habit and didn't spend on expensive holidays or cars. As a result, she had saved enough money to rent or even buy a house near Charlie and Sue, and live modestly for a couple of years until she was ready to go back to work again.

Bella had also decided that she didn't want to return to work in corporate finance when she did rejoin the workforce. She didn't know what she was going to do, but it would be something that would fit round looking after Little One. Bella would work as a shop assistant or janitor if she had to. Climbing the career ladder didn't matter anymore.

Bella was heading to Carmel for the weekend to break the news about Little One and her return to Manchester to Renee and Phil. She had been about to call her mother to ask if she could come down when Renee called her.

"_Hello Izzy-Bizzy-B!"_ Her mother trilled. Bella cringed. She hated that nickname, or any nickname, for that matter, except 'Bella' or 'B.'

"Hi Mum. I was just going to call you..."

"_Do you think you could make it down for the weekend? I've got a little surprise for you_!" Renee's voice was getting more high-pitched and sing-song.

"Mum, I was going to ask to come over anyway, but you know I hate surprises!"

"_I think you'll like this one!"_

"OK..." She hoped that Renee hadn't bought her some ridiculous piece of sporting equipment again. Last time it had been skis. The time before it had been climbing ropes and shoes. Bella was not a naturally sporty person. She only jogged every day because she liked cake too much and did yoga because it helped her coordination and calmed her down at the end of a difficult day.

"_Fantastic! It's going to be great! Would you be able to bring some dessert?"_

"You know I always do! I'll be there Saturday, around noon."

"_That's great, Iz-Biz! See you then!"_

"Bye Mum."

On Saturday, she woke up at 6am drenched in sweat and horny as hell. She had been dreaming of Edward, of him massaging her breasts and sucking her nipples. He had then turned her over onto her front and was finger-fucking her with one hand and squeezing her ass with the other, and was about to enter her doggy-style when she woke up. She had never known horniness like it. She crossed her legs at her ankles and willed the desire to go away but her action made it worse. Finally, she gave up, lay back and closed her eyes. Her fingers drifted to her slit and she lost herself in her imagination, picking up where the dream left off as she stroked herself to a rapid climax, crying Edward's name as she came. _I miss sex. I miss Edward._

She got up, showered and changed into a loose cap-sleeved dark blue and white nautical striped dress over navy cropped leggings. She was running out of clothes that fit without emphasising her slight bump. The outfit she'd chosen hid it well, although it was obvious that she'd gained weight.

Bella made herself a breakfast of boiled eggs and toast soldiers with butter and the Marmite Alice had sent over and checked her email whilst she ate. Coincidentally, Alice had sent her an email. Ever since her birthday, when Bella had phoned her, Alice had been in contact daily, but for the past week, she had been sending only text messages because of she was so busy with the ballet performances. Bella had jumped up and down with delight when Alice told her about the invitation to dance with the prestigious company. Bella had never had the balance or coordination for any kind of dance, but loved to watch ballet, and she particularly loved the Royal Ballet. Most of all, however, she loved watching Alice. She was so proud of her talented and clever niece.

_To: Bella Swan _

_From: Alice C. _

_Subject: OMG SO TIRED!_

_Hey Aunt B!_

_How are you? Working hard as usual?_

_It has been a totally crazy week! And it's not even over! But I am loving loving love-ing dancing with the Royal Ballet! I got to meet Carlos Acosta last night. Swoon! It's only a tiny part but it's just great to be performing with these amazing artists. I'm really hoping the Royal Ballet will ask me back for their next invitational at the end of June. They're dancing Alice in Wonderland! How cool? _

_Dad came to see me dance last night, along with Great Aunt Esme, Great Uncle Carlisle, my second cousins Jasper (I'm sure you remember him from Christmas- he wants to know when he can play chess with you again btw. He's not used to be being beaten!), and Charlotte. My other second cousin, Rosalie, is in New York otherwise she'd have come too. I can't believe you never got to meet Lottie and Rosie. They're way cool, you'd get on really well with them!_

_Anyways, they all loved the show! Dad said that I was better than some of the grown-up dancers in the line! But he's Dad. He has to say that! He wasn't allowed to film it but there's an official DVD. I'll get one out to you when the show's over. _

_Have you heard from my mother at all? If you have then you'll probably know something of what I'm about to tell you. It's not something that I could tell you about in a little text message otherwise I'd have told you earlier._

_Dad and Mum met up last week with the lawyers. They hashed out lots of stuff, mainly money stuff, and bottom line is, the divorce is going ahead. Mum put up quite a fight about the divorce going ahead on the grounds of her cheating, not because she doesn't want the divorce, but because if she's cheated she doesn't get much money. Don't tell Dad or Aunt Esme I told you that. They're both really funny about talking about pre-nup things. I don't really get why. Mum's the one at fault, not Dad. It's not like he cheated on Mum with someone she's close to! _

_Mum's not contesting it and she's not asking for custody of me. Now apparently it's just a question of waiting for the official documents to come through. Dad seems a little better, but he's still not himself. Hopefully he'll come through soon as well. _

_I decided to send Mum an email after her meeting with Dad last Friday, to let her know how badly her actions hurt us. I missed her, even though I'm still angry about what she did. I wanted her to know about my dancing with the Royal Ballet and if she replied, I was probably going to ask her to come along. _

_She hasn't replied. She's not at the house in Hampstead. I think she's been staying with Mike, Dad's friend who's now her boyfriend (Eww! Gross!), but I'm not calling there. Mike is creep-tacular and I don't want to talk to him. She's usually on her emails or Facebook all the time so I'm quite upset that she's not emailed me back. Maybe she's pissed off at me for not calling her for weeks and for wanting to stay with Dad._

_Anyways, I have to go. It's Saturday which means a matinee performance and an evening performance. I have to be at the Opera House for 10am, and it's 9am now! _

_Dad says Hi by the way. Did you listen to that CD I sent of him playing the piano? Did you like it? _

_Wish you could be here to see me perform, Aunt B! I know you'd love it! _

_Hope you're OK,_

_Love Alice xxx_

Bella smiled at her niece's email but then anger took over. What the hell was Jessica playing at? Alice reached out to her and she didn't reply? Bella knew her niece well enough to know that under the light, enthusiastic tone of her email, Alice was feeling rejected and punished, even though she didn't do anything wrong. Bella quickly typed out a reply, telling Alice that she wished she could see her dance as well, that she loved the CD (although omitted that she had loaded it onto her iPod and listened to it obsessively), that she hadn't heard from Jessica and was sorry her mother hadn't replied to her email.

After she sent it, she considered what Alice said about her parents' divorce proceedings.

"_...Mum put up quite a fight about the divorce going ahead on the grounds of her cheating, not because she doesn't want the divorce, but because if she's cheated she doesn't get much money. Don't tell Dad or Aunt Esme I told you that. They're both really funny about talking about pre-nup things. I don't really get why. Mum's the one at fault, not Dad. It's not like he cheated on Mum with someone she's close to..."_

Once again, Bella felt ashamed of her brief encounter with Edward, but her shame soon gave way to the thought that Jessica might have done something worse. She had cheated on her husband, but had she also stayed with Edward simply because he was wealthy, and because there had been a pre-nuptial agreement of some kind? Would she have otherwise left her family a long time ago? Given that Edward had said to her on the phone, that things would be very complicated until the divorce proceedings went through, Bella wondered if a pre-nup and its stipulations were the reasons why. Edward would need the utmost discretion if he was to stop Jessica from claiming half his assets, and therefore Alice's birthright, for her own. _I hope to God I'm wrong, but could it be that my sister is a gold-digger as well as an adulteress? _

Bristling with rage and frustration at her sister and her hopeless love for Edward, Bella cleaned up after her breakfast, grabbed her holdall, her large sunhat and the homemade blueberry cheesecake she'd made and put them back of the Prius before heading down to Carmel, around two and a half hours' drive away, playing Edward's piano music all the way down. By the time she stepped out of the car, she was calmer.

She was greeted by Renee, dressed in a bikini top and Daisy Duke-style denim shorts, an outfit that really was more suited to a woman Bella's age or younger, not that Bella would ever be seen dead in it.

"Hello Izzy-Bizzy!"

"Hi Mum!" Renee was jumping down in excitement as she moved forward to hug Bella.

Renee stopped bouncing long enough to let Bella pick up her things from the boot of the car before leading her through the large beachside house, set in a private cove on the outskirts of Carmel. Renee and Phil had had the house built three years after their wedding. Bella always thought it was ironic that Renee made a point of living thousands of miles away from England, yet she had built a house that looked quintessentially English, with a mock Tudor frontage and Victoriana features inside. The house was large, with several bedrooms, a swimming pool set within a wooden decked area, a tennis court and a gym.

"Ooh, that cheesecake looks lovely. It'll follow nicely the Cajun Chicken salad Luisa's made for lunch." Renee commented, handing the cheesecake to Luisa, the housekeeper and cook.

"_Hola_, Miss Bella." The sweet middle-aged Luisa greeted, always happy to have Mrs Renee's sweet daughter in the house. She was kind and polite, unlike the other one.

"_Hola Luisa. ¿Cómo estás?"_

"I fine, thank you." She replied before scuttling away.

"So what's this about a surprise?" Bella asked her mother as she helped herself to a glass of water from the dispenser in the fridge door.

"Ah, yes. All will be revealed in a few minutes."

"OK..."

"So how are you? You look..." Renee looked her daughter up and down. She looked good, although she'd gained some weight. "...well. The British diet's caught up with you though."

"Sorry?" Bella asked.

"Your little pot belly, Iz-Biz. Don't worry, a few weeks of salads and a bit more jogging, and you'll be back to normal." Renee replied offhandedly. "You have to be careful though my dear, you're not far off thirty, and it gets harder to shift extra weight once you hit the big 3-0."

"I'll bear it in mind." Bella replied, not quite yet ready to divulge the real reason for her rounded tummy.

The sound of a car pulling up interrupted their conversation.

"Ah, that will be Phil with the groceries, and your surprise!" Stay here a moment."

"OK." Renee skipped off to greet her husband, while Bella quickly checked her phone. Nothing to report.

"Close your eyes!" Renee yelled from the hallway.

Bella sighed and did as she was told. She heard the shuffling of more than one set of footsteps before Renee exclaimed,

"Ta-Da!" Bella opened her eyes to see the Jessica in front of her.

"Jess!"

"Hey little sister!" Jessica hugged Bella tightly. "Ooh, someone's been eating all the pies!" She commented as they broke apart.

"Yeah...wow! What a surprise!" Bella decided to gloss over Jessica's comment about her weight.

"Well, it's been so crap in London, what with the divorce and all. I thought I'd come out here for a while to chill out."

"Great!" Bella tried to sound sincere, but all she could feel was a whirling vortex of resentment, anger, guilt, shame and confusion.

"Why don't I get the cocktails started? What would y'all like?" Phil said as he brought in the last of the groceries and left them for Luisa to put away.

"Margarita for me Philly."

"Ooh, me too!"

"I'll just have a Shirley Temple, thanks." Bella said.

"Bella, you're not drinking?" Jess asked. She'd never turn down a cocktail and couldn't fathom why Bella would.

"No. I'm not."

"How come?" Renee asked.

Bella shrugged.

"I'm not used to drinking in the daytime. You know I'm not a big drinker anyway." Bella only really drank alcohol for Dutch courage.

"True." Jessica said, trying not to roll her eyes at her square sister. _Jeez, lighten up Bella. No wonder you don't have a man. _

Lunch was difficult for Bella. She had come down to Carmel to tell Renee her news, but found herself sitting quietly as Jessica dominated the conversation. She berated every single aspect of Edward's character, painting herself as the victim of a cruel, distant man who had left her destitute and stolen her daughter and home away from her. She made no mention of Mike at all.

"I mean, it's so hard, being away from her, not seeing her smiling face in the mornings, not going on our mother-daughter spa days and shopping trips." Jessica complained as Luisa cleared up the dessert plates and the remaining cheesecake.

"So you've had no contact at all?" Bella asked, unable to bite her tongue any longer. She seemed calm on the outside but inside she was raging at her sister's lies and selfishness.

"No. None."

"You didn't go down to the school to see her, like I suggested?"

"Ah, well, I, um, missed her. It's so hard getting all the way from Greenwich to Alice's school in Hammersmith."

"Why'd you move to Greenwich, Jess?" Renee interjected. "It's the opposite side of London to Hampstead and Hammersmith."

"Well, I needed a place to stay because Edward's selling the house from under me, so I'm staying with a friend there." Jessica replied.

"Have you emailed her? Contacted her on Facebook? Got in touch with Edward's lawyer to organise visitation?" Bella pressed.

"Um, I think Edward's been restricting her access. I emailed her, but she's not replied." Jessica lied. She had gotten an email from Alice a week earlier and it was still sitting in her inbox, unanswered. Jessica had read it, but when the extent of Alice's hurt towards her became apparent, Jessica had stopped reading. Like Renee, Jessica had an aversion to taking responsibility for her actions.

"Oh. What about her birthday?"

"Sorry?"

"Alice's birthday. It was two weeks ago. Did you send her a card or present or..."

"Well how could I?" Jessica snapped. "I don't know their new address!"

"You could have called Esme's office and sent it there. She'd have got it to her."

"That bitch." Jessica muttered under her breath, thinking of Esme's cool demeanour in the conference room the previous week, and her smug grin as she delivered the news that the pre-nuptial agreement, or rather the postnuptial agreement, was completely valid.

"Well I didn't." Jess retorted defensively. "You know, Bella, you make it sound like I'm the one in the wrong. Edward..."

"...has left you high and dry?"

"Exactly!" Jess exclaimed, relaxing back in her chair, thinking that Bella had bought her sob story.

Bella let her sister settle and have a sip of her margarita before deciding to go in for the kill.

"Interestingly, Alice seems to have a different take."

"What do you mean?" Jessica suddenly sat up again, on edge.

"Your daughter, your wonderful, brave, sweet girl, wrote to me a couple of weeks ago. I spoke to her on her birthday and we've been emailing or texting daily. She emailed me this morning in fact."

"Err...what did she tell you?"

"She told me pretty much everything." Jessica took in the fire in Bella's eyes and knew that her sister knew the real reasons for the divorce. "She mentioned that she emailed you a week ago and you've not replied?"

"Jessica, is that true?" Renee asked, utterly confused as to what was going on.

"No! I mean..." Jessica stammered. "Maybe it's in my spam box."

"Maybe." Bella replied sarcastically.

Tension permeated the room and Phil decided he didn't want to get involved.

"Err...well, I'm gonna head out for some golf with the guys. You ladies have a nice afternoon and I'll meet you down the club for dinner." He quickly stood up, kissed Renee and walked out.

"Jessica, Isabella, what's going on?"

"I think Bella's gotten a bit too involved in business which is not hers." Jessica said indignantly, crossing her arms in a huff.

"When my niece, your daughter, writes to me devastated that her family is breaking up because her mother's been cheating on her father with his best friend, then it becomes my business!"

Bella was on a roll. Jessica was surprised and rather frightened at the fury her normally quiet, docile and meek little sister was unleashing.

"How could you, Jessica? How could you destroy your family like that? And then to come here and paint Edward as this evil, neglectful guy? If he was so bad, why did you even stay with him for so long? What, is he rolling in cash or something?"

"What? What makes you say that?"

"Oh my God! That's it, isn't it? That's fucking _it!_ You only stayed with him because of his money, and you're not upset about him leaving you, you're pissed that he took his cash with him!"

"Bella, you don't know what you're..."

"I think I do! But you know the worst thing is that you accused him of keeping Alice from you, when you've made next to no effort to find her or talk to her!"

"She's the one who refused to talk to me! She's the one that wanted to move out of the house, and Edward went along with it!"

"Alice was broken-hearted, hurt, angry, confused... she did what most kids, hell, what most people do when they feel that way. She cut herself off from the thing that hurt her! You forget, _she's_ the child, _you're _the adult. Yet, when Alice did the mature thing and emailed you, explaining why she did what she did, you didn't even have the decency to reply! How..."

"I told you, I didn't get the email! It went in my spam folder..."

"Bullshit!" Bella cried, tears now running down her face.

"Bella!" Renee intervened. "Calm down!"

Bella sat back in her chair and wiped her face with the back of her hand.

Jessica was red in the face. She had not considered that Alice would seek out Bella for comfort or confide in her. She knew Bella was clever but she never expected her to have the insight to realise her real motives and most of all, she never ever thought that Bella would tear such a big strip off her. She thought Bella had two volumes, silent or quiet.

"Is it true Jessica?" Renee asked. "You've got someone else?"

"Yes, Mum." Jessica replied quietly. "His name is Mike."

"And you're staying with him in Greenwich?"

"Yes. He loves me." Bella noticed that Jessica did not say that she loved him.

"So you've got someone who's looking after you? That's good. I was worried you'd be lonely."

"What?" Bella sat bolt upright. "Mum, are you condoning her behaviour?"

"Bella, the break-up of a relationship is hard on everybody. It's not anybody's fault. You can't help who you fall in love with, or when. And it's important to be looked after." Renee's words stung as Bella's thoughts immediately flew to Edward. _Damn, I really am no better than Jessica or Renee, not at all. But I'd never, ever ignore my child. Never. And I'd never, ever rely on a man for money. My sister and mother have set the Equal Rights for Women movement back a hundred years._

"The fact that Jessica cheated on Edward and only stayed with him for money isn't so much my issue as her inability to take responsibility, to own up to it!" Bella stated. "And as for your attitude towards Alice..."

"Alice chose Edward over me!" Jessica retorted.

"And I bet you'll hold that against her for the rest of her life." Bella replied resignedly. "Despite the fact that this whole situation is entirely your doing."

"Alice should have given Jessica a chance to explain, Bella..."

"_Et tu, _Mum? Alice did give her a chance. An email, a week ago. An email that has been left without reply. Alice thinks that you're punishing her, Jessica. It breaks my heart to realise that she was right."

Bella stood up and started walking out of the room as Jessica and Renee sat there, rather shocked. She couldn't stay there any longer, but before she left she told Jessica,

"You aren't the victim in all this mess, Jessica. Alice is. And you're the one who'll miss out if you don't mend the fences. You were blessed with a kind, gentle, decent husband and a beautiful, bright, talented, big-hearted daughter who is your greatest achievement in life. Your marriage is in tatters, that's done. But get your selfish head out of your selfish ass and fix things with Alice, before it's too late!"

"Bella!" Renee called out.

"I can't believe that you would blame Alice too, Mum. Your only grandchild. But I guess Jessica had to get her selfish gene from somewhere, eh?"

Bella turned and fled the dining room. She picked up her holdall, sunhat and handbag from the hallway, and headed to her car. She felt utterly disgusted. _The sooner I get back to England, the better. I need my real family._

"Miss Bella! Miss Bella!" Luisa came running after her with the ornate glass plate that had held the cheesecake. She had cleaned it. "Your plate. So pretty. Do not forget!"

"Thank you Luisa." Bella kissed the kindly housekeeper on the cheek. "Take care of yourself."

"You too Miss Bella." Luisa replied. "_Cuidar de usted mismo y el bebé." _She added, glancing at Bella's abdomen. Luisa was the eldest of seven siblings, had three daughters around Bella's age and several grandchildren. She knew a pregnant girl when she saw one. "Don't worry. I don't tell Mrs Renee."

"Thank you. I don't know when I'll be back, so please, take the plate. It's yours." Bella thrust the plate back into Luisa's hands.

"Oh no..."

"Please. I was going to be selling it anyway. Please?"

"OK."

Bella kissed and hugged Luisa once more before getting in the car. Luisa waved until Bella's car was out of sight before trudging back into the house, miserable that nice Miss Bella had been driven away by her mother and nasty sister.

-cc-

**AN: **

**Spanish translations:**

_¿Cómo estás?" _(How are you?)

_Cuidar de usted mismo y el bebé. _(Take care of yourself and your baby.)


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Hi everyone! Once again, thank you so much for reading, following, adding me to favourites and leaving reviews. **

**A lot of people have been asking why Bella's so different from Jessica, and it's because she was raised in a different environment, by Charlie and Sue. We're going to meet them this chapter. **

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 8**

"Charlie, relax. She'll be here any minute!" Sue Swan held her husband's hand to stop him from fidgeting on the spot as they waited for Bella to enter the arrivals hall at Manchester Airport. In order to fly direct to Manchester, Bella had had to change flights in New York, and the flight had been delayed by half an hour.

"Sorry, love. I just can't wait to see her. I just feel it in my gut that something's not right with Bella. This sudden return to Manchester? It's odd."

Sue squeezed his hand and Charlie pulled her towards him, hugging her and kissing her hair. Sue completely agreed. She had heard the strain in Bella's voice when she had called six days earlier, just as they were sitting down to Sunday lunch, stating that she was returning to Manchester and that she had some important news.

After another ten minutes, the doors to the arrivals hall opened and passengers came flooding out. Bella was right at the end of the stream of people, looking exhausted and pale, pushing a trolley holding three big suitcases and a large handbag. She spotted them and waved, but moved slowly because of her tiredness and the heavy load she was pushing.

"Bella!"

"Hi Dad! Hi Mama Sue! It's so good to see you!" She hugged them tightly and willed herself not to cry tears of tiredness, relief, frustration and sorrow. It didn't work too well. Charlie felt her tears stain his shirt.

"Hey Bells! What's the matter?" Charlie asked.

"Nothing. Just happy to be home." Bella replied. "So happy to be home."

"Well, let's go, shall we? You must be shattered and starving!" Sue said, worry piercing through her.

Charlie and Sue Swan had been married for seventeen years, and together for twenty. They had a fairly simple, comfortable life in south Manchester, and were very content. Charlie, who had been a police officer for thirty-five years, had been a colleague and friend of Sue's late husband Harry Clearwater. Harry had died in the line of duty trying to prevent an armed robbery when Sue was pregnant with their youngest child, Seth. Charlie had held Harry's hand in the ambulance, and in the Emergency department, right up until Harry's heart stopped beating and the doctors and nurses wrenched him away. Harry's last words to Charlie were 'Look after my family, Charlie.'

Charlie had supported Sue through the funeral, through Seth's birth and afterwards. They had been friends before Harry's death but gradually, as they spent more time together, their feelings changed into more. Charlie had been very reluctant at first, worrying about what their friends and family would think about him starting a relationship with Harry's widow, but also because Renee had burned him so badly when she left him, six years earlier. Ironically they finally got together on the day of Renee's wedding, when Charlie was finally able to let go and move on.

It hadn't been plain sailing at first. Leah, Sue and Harry's daughter, had idolised her father and saw Charlie as something of an interloper, and saw quiet, bookish, pretty Bella as a threat. It took a lot of patience and tears before she accepted that Charlie and Bella weren't going anywhere and that they would never try to replace Harry's place in her heart. Seth had never known any other father but Charlie and called him Dad, and loved Bella in exactly the same way as he loved Leah.

When Leah and Bella were twelve and Seth was five, Charlie and Sue finally tied the knot, with the girls as bridesmaids. All their friends, family and colleagues had been there to celebrate their marriage, but Harry's life and bravery were not forgotten. A year later, Sue managed to get a business loan to open a small delicatessen and cafe in the heart of central Manchester, just off the main thoroughfare of Deansgate. The Clear Swan Deli-Cafe was a tiny shop at first, but Sue's vast knowledge of foods and flavours, coupled with her talents as a cook and baker, meant that there were queues around the block for her cakes, pies, cookies and gourmet sandwiches.

Within two years, The Clear Swan Deli-Cafe had expanded to take up the units on either side of the original shop, and had maintained a good reputation as one of the most reliable establishments in the whole of Manchester. Sue had also opened two smaller branches in the suburbs of Didsbury and Hyde. She also wrote an occasional column on cooking and baking for the Manchester Evening News and did cookery demonstrations at weekends.

Sue had thought, at one time, that Bella might wish to join her in the business, but when Renee offered her the opportunity to go to California for university, Bella had taken it. Sue had been a little disappointed, for she saw in Bella an immense talent for cookery and baking, but she could not deny that a girl as academically bright as Bella needed the challenge and experience of going to university. Renee's offer meant that Bella would not have to worry about paying for her education, and would always have the kudos of attending a university like UC Berkeley as a career advantage, whatever she decided to do with her life.

Leah, unlike her mother, had never been particularly interested in the art and science of food. She had always known that she was meant to follow in her father and Charlie's footsteps, and be a police officer. She had joined the Greater Manchester Police Force at the age of 21, after doing a degree in criminology, and had just been promoted to Detective Sergeant.

Seth was somewhat directionless at times during his teenage years, and after a couple of years of travelling around the world, including spending three months in California with Bella, working and living hand-to-mouth, Seth returned home with a plan. He had done much soul-searching during his time away, and taken a lot of advice from his beloved step-sister. He decided to become a teacher. Currently he was doing a degree in Geography as well as a teaching certificate, whilst working at Clear Swan part time.

By the time Sue and Charlie brought Bella home, Leah and Seth had arrived, having finished their respective days at work. Seth still lived with Sue and Charlie in their home in West Didsbury, but Leah lived in nearby Altrincham with her new fiancé, Jacob. They had been together for four years, and Jake had proposed a month earlier, on Leah's 30th birthday. Jake was one of Bella's best friends from school, and they had dated very briefly when they were sixteen before deciding it felt weird and wrong. Leah had been apprehensive about telling Bella, but Bella had been delighted, and Leah was planning to ask her if she would be her maid of honour at the wedding in a year's time.

"Hey Sis!"

"Hey B!"

Seth and Leah hugged Bella as she walked in, at the same time, making a Bella sandwich.

"We missed you!" Seth exclaimed, patting Bella on the head. She didn't mind. It was an affection Seth had bestowed ever since the day he realised he was growing taller than her, when he was around ten. He was now 6' 4", quite muscular, with olive-toned skin and dark hair and eyes. Leah was around 5' 7" with quite a broad frame for a girl, with defined muscles thanks to her daily workouts at the police gym, and had strong, dark features, and shoulder-length dark, almost black hair.

"I missed you guys too!"

"Are you, like, staying for months, or what? That is a serious amount of stuff, Sis!" Seth exclaimed, eyeing the pile of luggage in the hallway.

"Um, yeah. I'm staying for a while." Bella replied.

"Seth, Charlie, please could you take Bella's stuff to her room and Leah, please set the table." Sue said. "Bella, sit down. You look like you're about to fall down tired." Bella did as she was told.

A couple of minutes later, Charlie and Seth returned from taking Bella's things upstairs and took their seats at the kitchen table alongside Bella and Leah. Sue dished up dinner, her famous moussaka, a recipe handed down from her Greek grandmother, served with homemade garlic and rosemary bread and Greek salad. It was one of Bella's favourites.

Everyone started eating. Bella was ravenous. Little One hadn't affected her appetite too much during the early days of her pregnancy, but now, at eighteen weeks and well into her second trimester, she could eat for England. She had managed to eat half her plate before Charlie, who had watched in astonishment as the normally measured Bella ate as quickly as her exuberant bear of a brother, spoke.

"So Bells, are you gonna tell us what's going on? Your news?"

"Um..." Bella looked up from her plate and rested her cutlery. Having kept her pregnancy mostly hidden for four months, she found it hard to say the words. "I'm moving home. Returning to California was a mistake. It just doesn't feel like the right place to be anymore."

"So your company are transferring you back?" Leah asked. Bella shook her head.

"No. The thing is, I had a bit of a disagreement with HR and I quit. I gave them a month's notice, but had two weeks' holiday to take so finished there yesterday afternoon and got straight on a flight. Once I made the decision to quit, I pretty much made the decision to leave California."

"Why Baby Girl? Why'd you quit? I thought you loved the job."

"I did love the job, but my priorities have changed." Bella rested her hands on her little bump. "Um, I'm pregnant."

"Pregnant?" Charlie exclaimed. "You're having a baby?"

"Yes. Little One's due in early September." Bella replied, feeling calmer now that she had told them. "I quit because the company wouldn't let me work part time after my return from maternity leave, and I decided that I didn't want to be working 80 hours a week so that Little One could be raised by a nanny."

"What about the dad, Sis? Who's the baby's father?"

"He's not in the picture. That's all I'm going to say about him so please don't ask me."

"Did he break your heart, B?" Leah enquired, ignoring her plea.

"Really, Lee, please don't ask. I-I can't talk about him yet." Bella replied. She had spent the whole week pondering her raging argument with Jessica and Renee, and her loyalty to her big sister, especially with regards to Edward. She had painfully accepted that Jessica did not deserve her faithfulness, but still worried about what the rest of her family and her friends would think of her for falling for with her sister's soon-to-be ex-husband.

"OK. I won't, for now. But what are you going to do about money and a job? Where are you going to live?"

"I've got enough saved up that I can live quite comfortably without working for a while, at least a couple of years if I'm modest, and as for where I'm going to live, well, I'm viewing three houses on Monday, all within walking distance of here."

"You're gonna stay in Manchester?" Sue asked, surprised but secretly delighted.

"That's the plan for now. I don't know if it's going to be a permanent thing, but I'm planning to stay at least until Little One's born." Bella replied.

"Wow. Just wow, Sis!" Seth got up from his chair and moved to kneel next to Bella. He moved his hands and they hovered over Bella's tummy. "May I?" Bella nodded, slightly bewildered, and Seth gently placed both his hands on her bump. "So cool! Is he moving yet? When Emily was pregnant, Brady used to kick her all the time, and he used to, like, flip over." Seth chattered excitedly.

"Nope, I can't feel him moving yet, but they say that's normal for the first pregnancy. I had a scan on Wednesday and Little One's doing great." Bella smiled

"Boy or girl?" Leah asked. She was desperate to be a mother. She and Jake were planning to start trying for a baby on their honeymoon.

"Don't know. I didn't ask."

"Have you thought of any names, Bells? May I suggest Charles?" Charlie joked. "Thought I'd get that in there early!"

"I'll bear it in mind Dad!" Bella laughed.

"Susan's not bad for a girl!" Sue added, leaning over and kissing Bella on the cheek.

"So you're all OK with it? Me quitting my responsible, well-paid job, selling up in Berkeley, moving home, becoming a single mum?"

"All we want is for you to be happy Baby Girl. And a baby is always a miracle. Always brings joy." Sue told her.

Bella started crying. It was exactly what she needed to hear and proved that she had made the right decision coming back home to the family that truly loved her. _The only thing that could make things better is if Edward and Alice were here._

"Thank you. Sorry. I cry at everything these days."

"It's OK, Bells. We love you. I can't believe I'm gonna be a grandpa!"

"I love you all too. And you are going to be the best grandparents, uncle and aunt a baby could ever have!"

"OK, everyone. Eat up so we can have pudding! I made a chocolate ganache cake with raspberries and whipped cream!" Sue told them, discreetly wiping away a tear from her eye.

"Yum! One of my favourites." Bella said, picking up her fork again.

"I know." Sue replied quietly. Bella smiled and finished her moussaka and salad.

"So, Bells, how'd Renee take the news?" Charlie asked whilst helping her and Seth clear the table. Bella didn't answer straight away, and Charlie stopped to look at her. "Bella?"

"Um, she doesn't know Dad. We kind of had a disagreement last week and I never got round to telling her. I'll tell her eventually but I can't face it right now."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'll fill you in once I have cake in front of me. To tell you all about that saga, I need cake."

Once she had a huge slice of Sue's famous dark chocolate ganache cake, she filled in the family about Jessica's behaviour, the divorce and the argument with Renee and Jessica the previous weekend.

"Jesus. What a mess!" Leah exclaimed. "Your poor brother-in-law and niece."

"Yeah, Alice has been texting or emailing quite a lot. She's very hurt that Jessica didn't reply to her email, even after I yelled at her. She's such a great kid. You'd all love her."

"Well, why don't you invite her up for the weekend once you've found a place of your own?" Seth suggested.

"I will. What I'd love to do is to see her dance. She's still got a week left performing with the Royal Ballet, but I doubt I'll get tickets. The show's been sold out for..."

Bella was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing.

"Who's that calling? On a Saturday night?" Charlie asked gruffly before getting up to answer the door.

"Oh crap..." Leah began, clapping her hand over her mouth. "Bella, I'm sorry! Of course I told Jake you were coming home this weekend, and he got all excited and told Sam at work at the garage, and the next thing you know..."

"BELLY-WELLY WHERE ARE YOU?" Bella got up to see Jacob, Pete, Emmett, Katie, Sam and Emily, who was carrying their nine-month old son Brady, walking into the house.

They were her closest friends. They'd all gone to school together and remained close even though they led hectic lives. Jacob and Sam, who were cousins, ran a successful garage on the main road between Didsbury and Manchester City Centre. Sam and Emily, who was Sue's niece and therefore cousin to Leah and Seth, had been together since the age of eighteen and had got married five years earlier. Emily worked with Sue at Clear Swan and was manager of the Didsbury branch of the deli-cafe. Katie was a doctor in general family practice and lived with her partner Melissa and five dogs. Peter worked as a graphic designer and used Manchester as his base, but also worked in London and Edinburgh. Emmett was a trained lawyer and chartered accountant, and worked as a global business development executive for Ernst & Young. He mostly split his time between his flat in London and his house in Manchester, but his job had taken him all over the world.

"Hey guys!" She kissed and hugged them all in turn. They all started talking at once and over each other, but Bella was used to it and just laughed.

"So, how you been?"

"So what's been happening?"

"What's brought you back?"

"How long are you staying?"

"Is there any cake?"

"Bella, you'd better fill everyone in!" Sue said as she brought round the rest of the cake and tea for the guests.

Bella did as she was told and when she was done there was silence for a split second before all her friends were on their feet, hugging and congratulating her.

"Bella, you're going to be an amazing mother!" Emily told her. "We'll have to set our kids up on a play date!"

"Yeah, wow! That takes guts!" Pete echoed.

"If you need any help at all, you know we're there for you." Katie said.

Bella started crying again, overwhelmed by the love shown by her friends as well as her family, and as her tears fell, she thought about how good it felt to cry tears of happiness for once.

-cc-

Three days later, Bella had found a furnished three bedroom late Victorian house two streets away from Charlie and Sue, into which she could move immediately. She had brought her most important things with her on the plane, and Cora was all set to ship the four boxes of books, crockery and a few other items which Bella wanted to keep, the moment Bella phoned her with the address. Bella's house in Berkeley had sold quickly and the couple who'd bought it had wanted the items of furniture, so she didn't have to worry about those.

Sue and Leah were taking Bella shopping for baby things, along with Emily. Sue had dug out Seth's old crib from the attic of her house but otherwise, Bella was starting from scratch. Just as they were in the shopping mall, debating which baby store to hit next, Bella's mobile rang.

"Hey Emmett! What's up?"

"_Hey Belly! How's Baby Belly!"_

"Little One's good, thank you. So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"

"_Where is it your niece is dancing? It's ballet right?"_

"Um, yeah? Why do you ask?"

"_Is it the Royal Ballet? 'Cause I remember you saying you wanted to go but couldn't get tickets, and my boss has just asked me if I want her tickets on Saturday night. For Dangerous Liaisons? Is that the same show?"_

"Yes! Seriously Em?"

"_Yeah!"_

"I'll have them! Saturday is closing night! Just tell me how much and who I have to pay!"

"_Oh, no need, Belly. They're comps. And great seats apparently. Don't you just love corporate hospitality?!"_

"Even better. Are you in London this weekend? You want to come with me?"

"Um..." Bella wasn't surprised at his hesitation. She doubted ballet was Emmett's thing.

"I'll buy you dinner." Bella knew exactly how to get to him.

"_What if I wanted to go to The Ivy?"_

"If you can actually manage to get a table there on a Saturday evening, I will pay."

"_Then, done!"_

Bella couldn't wait to see her niece. She said goodbye to Emmett and hugged herself in joy.

"Good news, Baby Girl?" Sue asked.

"Yes. Emmett's managed to get me tickets for Alice's ballet performance on Saturday night in London."

"So you're heading down this weekend?" Leah asked.

"Yes. I guess I'll head down Saturday lunchtime, and come back Sunday afternoon."

"Um..." Leah shifted her weight from foot to foot. "Do you think you might meet the baby's father while you're down there?" She asked hesitantly. She didn't want to upset Bella but she had seen the look of pain in her stepsister's face when she asked before, and wanted to know what was behind it.

"Leah... please..." Bella's smile turned into a frown.

"Does he know?" Emily asked quietly.

"Yes."

"And what, he's not prepared to be there for you? Jerk!" Leah huffed.

"Don't call him that!" Bella snapped. "It's really complicated!"

"So explain it." Sue said, glancing round. "There's a cafe over there. Let's have a brew and you can tell us why you're determined to have this baby alone if its dad is not a jerk?" Sue put her hands on her hips and focussed her gaze on her stepdaughter. Bella realised there was no escaping her interrogation. Sue had never been a police officer but she probably could have been.

"OK." Bella followed Sue, Leah and Emily to the cafe and once they had tea and raisin flapjacks* in front of them, Sue began asking questions.

"The father lives in London and he knows about the baby?"

"Yes."

"But he doesn't want a relationship with you?"

"He does want a relationship with me but when I returned to California, he wasn't exactly free."

"He's married?"

"Um, they're now splitting up. As I said, it's really complicated, really messy. He has a family who he has to consider and when I found out I was pregnant I decided that it would be easier if I just lifted myself and Little One out of the equation." Bella kept things vague, ashamed enough in admitting she'd had an affair with a married man without disclosing that the man in question was her soon-to-be ex-brother-in-law.

"But B, he has a right to know his child!" Emily exclaimed.

"I don't want to disrupt his family life, though. And I'm so embarrassed about the fact that we were together whilst he was still married."

"It is unlike you Bella. You're normally so careful." Sue observed. "But you clearly care deeply for him."

"I-I love him. I fell for him the moment I saw him." Bella whispered. "And the more I got to know him, the deeper I fell in love. I told myself that it was just lust and that we just needed to get it out of our systems. I guess I kind of seduced him into it. I was wrong though. It was so much more than lust. It was love." She could feel a sob building in the back of her throat and swallowed hard.

"Oh, B." Emily said sympathetically.

"Baby Girl, listen." Bella looked up at Sue's kind face. "He wants to be with you?" Bella nodded. "But you're keeping yourself apart from him because he's got other kids and he's separating from his wife and because you feel guilty about having an affair?" Bella nodded again. "Here's how I see it. Your intentions may be pure, but you and Little One will suffer the most in the long run."

"I have to agree, Bella. Little One will miss out by not having a dad in his or her life. You'll miss out on a loving relationship. You can't help who you fall in love with, B." Leah said.

"No, but..."

"When Jake and I got together, I was so worried about you being upset, because he was your ex. That was what you said to me before wishing us luck and all the happiness in the world. And now I'm saying it to you. This guy's divorcing his wife. Once the dust settles, he'll be unattached. You're back in England permanently. Go tell that man you love him, you want a family with him and you'll wait for him."

"I wish it was that simple." Bella replied sadly.

"Bella, for as long as I've known you, you've put other people first. I'm not condoning you sleeping with a married man, not at all, but it's done now, and it's probably the only mistake you've ever made. If he was really happy in his marriage, he'd never have taken up with you. So stop punishing yourself. If he wants to be with you and help you raise Little One, you should let him." Emily advised. "A child should have two parents."

"Just think about it Baby Girl. You made a mistake. We all make them. But don't let it hold you back from having the relationship you deserve."

-cc-

It was closing night of the Royal Ballet's run of Dangerous Liaisons. Alice was backstage at the Royal Opera House putting the finishing touches to her stage make-up before the matinee performance when someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was a delivery man looking a bit perplexed at being surrounded by hundreds of dancers in costume.

"Alice Cullen?"

"Yes?"

"These are for you." The man reached behind him and picked up a large basket filled with a huge arrangement of gerbera flowers of all different colours, and five large bags of chocolate coins.

"Oh wow!" Alice exclaimed. "Thank you!"

"Ali, who are those from? Do you have a boyfriend or something?" One of the other dancers asked. Alice willed herself not to blush. She didn't think they were from Jasper though. It wasn't his style- he was more of a spur-of-the moment, pick a bunch of wild flowers kind of boy- and he didn't have a credit card to order them with.

"They're probably just from my dad." Alice replied automatically, ignoring the sadness that she didn't even consider that Jessica could have sent them. After she fished out the bags of coins, she saw that there was a card. She opened it quickly.

_To my darling niece Alice_

_These are just a little way of saying how proud I am of you. I'm sure that you're the best dancer there. Congratulations in advance for a fantastic run of performances. I hope you like the flowers and the chocolate coins. Sweets for my sweetie and her friends. I can't wait to see you very soon._

_Lots of love_

_Aunt Bella_

_PS: Very soon might be sooner than you think. You probably won't be able to look around the theatre tonight when you're on stage, but if you can spare a glance, look at the right Grand Tier balcony boxes. _

_PPS: Here's my new mobile number. Yes, it's a local number. I have so much to tell you. _

Alice squealed and jumped up and down with delight before whipping out her mobile from her bag to text her aunt. Within minutes they had arranged to meet after the show at the Covent Garden Piazza entrance. She was ecstatic. Alice always performed better when her loved ones were in the audience, and as well as Aunt Bella and her friend, her father and her second cousin Rosalie were coming too. _Yay! I just hope Dad won't be weird about Aunt Bella coming back. She's not Mum. I hope he gets that._

-cc-

**AN: **

**Flapjacks in Britain are sweet bars made with golden syrup, lots of oats and butter, a bit like a granola bar, but softer. **

**I hope you liked it. Please let me know!**

**Same time next week, probably. **

**CC xxx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi everyone! I hope you are all well! Thanks for the reviews! I've replied to most of them, I think. Lots of love being shown for the Clearwater Swan extended family- yay!**

**We're back in London for this chapter, and we're meeting Rosalie. **

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 9**

Rosalie Cullen was proud to be a ball-busting, bad-ass boardroom bitch. It wasn't a good day at the office if she didn't make somebody cry. She pitied the fools who assumed that just because she was blonde, buxom and beautiful she would be a pushover. Rosalie worked as a litigator for a large corporate law firm in London, but ultimately she wanted to start a corporate arbitration and litigation branch of her mother's firm Cullen and Associates.

However, Rosalie was a pussy cat when it came to kids. She absolutely adored Jasper and Alice, and planned to have lots of her own one day. Rosalie remembered their births, the first time she had seen them walk and the first time she heard them talk. She remembered taking them out for ice-cream and cleaning up the drips and spills like it was yesterday. So when she had to miss the Cullen family trip to see Alice dance with the Royal Ballet because of an unavoidable business trip to New York, she had been very put out. Luckily, Alice had been given two tickets for the closing night performance and Rosalie had returned from The Big Apple in time, so Edward said that he'd take her. He never got enough of seeing his beloved daughter perform.

The first half of the show did not disappoint, and neither did Alice. Rosalie was impressed. She wasn't a particular fan of ballet but she had loved the play upon which the ballet was based, and she loved the way the story was conveyed through dance. Even though Alice had a very small part and was mainly a background dancer, she shone through and stood out. Rosalie's only complaint was that the air conditioning in the auditorium had dried out her skin and especially her lips. Therefore she was frustrated when she got to the ladies' restroom at the interval, opened her Mulberry handbag and realised that she had left her lipstick in her office.

She was about to give up and leave when Bella, who happened to be standing next to her at the mirror, pulled out a pot of strawberry scented lip balm. Impulsively, Rosalie exclaimed,

"I wish I'd been clever enough to remember some of that!"

Bella's eyes widened, startled at someone talking to her in the restroom. It wasn't something that Londoners did very often. Rosalie appraised her. She took in Bella's long dark brown wavy hair and big brown eyes set in a heart-shaped face, and considered her to be very pretty. Bella was dressed simply in a floor-length long-sleeved dark teal jersey empire-waist dress and a gold belt just under the bust which emphasised her slight bump.

"Um, yeah. The AC's really fierce." Bella replied quietly. "Would you like some?" She offered the pot to Rosalie who accepted gratefully, took a spread of balm and handed it back.

"Thank you!"

"No problem."

Rosalie headed out of the restroom but as she exited she hit somebody in the face with the door.

"Ow!" Rosalie peered round the door to see a huge guy in his early thirties with massive muscles, sparkly blue eyes, short chestnut brown hair and a warm friendly smile, rubbing his nose.

"Oh. Sorry." She apologised. _Holy fuck, he is hotness personified! _

"S'all right, duck. My fault for standing behind the door!" Emmett replied in his broad Mancunian accent. "No 'arm done!"

"Everything OK, Em?" Rosalie turned round to see Bella looking at them quizzically, leading Rosalie to draw the wrong conclusion. _Typical. He's taken. Baby on the way._

"Yeah, fine B." He told her, smiling at Rosalie once more. Emmett loved blondes, especially uptight ones. They were great fun to unwind. "Shall we go get you some ice-cream?"

Emmett held out his arm to Bella who nodded enthusiastically. She took it and they headed towards the ice-cream vendor, but Emmett couldn't help but sneak one last look at the gorgeous Rosalie's retreating form. She looked like a movie star, a Hollywood siren like Marilyn Monroe or Rita Hayworth, dressed in a tight cobalt-blue pencil dress and matching stilettos. Perfect boobs, perfect legs, perfect smile, perfect ass, perfect attitude. _Wow. The perfect woman._

Bella had noticed Emmett's interest in Rosalie and smiled to herself. She was undoubtedly beautiful. She seemed like a good person, someone who spoke her mind, and who was equally interested in Emmett. As she took her seat in the boxes to the right of the Grand Tier, she glanced down over the stalls below and caught sight of honey blonde and cobalt blue. She was about to point the girl out to Emmett when she caught sight of a mop of unruly bronze hair next to her. Bella's breath caught in her throat. _Edward. With the blonde. _

Bella thought that she might see Edward that night but she hadn't anticipated that he would actually be in the audience, because she knew he'd already seen the performance. And she certainly didn't expect him to be with a date. _What do you expect Bella? You turned him down. You chose your ungrateful bitch of a half-sister over him._

At the end of the performance, Bella and Emmett lingered at the Covent Garden Piazza entrance to wait for Alice.

"Em, hang here for a minute. I need the loo."

"Again B?" She'd been five times since they'd started the evening with dinner at the Ivy.

"You try carrying a baby that uses your bladder as a bouncy castle and see how often you go to the loo!" Bella retorted as she walked towards the ladies' room.

Emmett pulled out his phone from his suit pocket. He barely got through a game of Angry Birds when the blonde bombshell in the sexy blue dress walked into the Piazza. She caught sight of him and smiled before pulling out her own phone from her handbag. Feeling bold, he walked over.

"Hi."

"Um, hi." Rosalie replied.

"My nose is fine, by the way!" Emmett joked. "Not every day I get it mashed by a door-wielding beautiful woman!"

Rosalie felt herself blush. He had a very disarming smile. However, she suddenly remembered the lovely pregnant brunette she had met in the restroom.

"Are you trying to pick me up?"

"That depends. Is it working?"

"God. All men really are pigs!" She exclaimed indignantly.

"What?!" Emmett was confused. He hadn't realised her assumption.

"You have the gall to hit on me when your girlfriend is literally yards away!" Rosalie yelled, causing heads of passers-by to turn.

"What?!" Emmett cried. "She's not my girlfriend!"

"Yeah, right!"

"Rosie?" Rosalie whirled round to see Alice and Edward behind her. "You OK?" Alice was dressed in her brand new Royal Ballet tracksuit, her hair, which had been dyed dark brown for the performances, was still tied in a bun sparkling with glitter. She was carrying the basket of gerberas and another smaller bouquet of pink roses.

"I'm fine Alice!" She leant down to kiss Alice's cheek. "Just..."

"AUNT B!" Alice suddenly exclaimed, looking behind Emmett and Rosalie. She dropped the basket of flowers and ran towards Bella who was returning from the ladies' room.

"Alice!" Bella swept her niece into a huge hug.

She couldn't help but catch Edward's eyes as she did so. So many emotions swept across his handsome face. Shock. Surprise. Pain. Confusion. Regret. Love. Love. Love. Bella knew in that moment that the blonde, whoever she was, meant nothing to him, that there was nothing going on. When she felt his eyes on her, she knew from the way her heart burned and her skin crackled with energy that their hearts beat only for each other.

Edward could hardly breathe, being so overcome with emotion, especially when his eyes drifted over Bella's middle. He even rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. She was wearing an overcoat so the bump wasn't obvious but his heart stuttered at the sight of it, and her exquisite face. It had been two months since he'd seen her, and it had been the longest two months of his life.

"I can't believe it! You're here? And back in London?" Alice asked excitedly.

"Back in England, but I'm just visiting London. I'm staying in Manchester."

"Why?"

"It's a bit of a long story." Bella replied, her eyes flicking back to Edward's. "Um, hey Edward." He smiled weakly and nodded, still affected by the sight of her.

"Dad's taking me and Rosalie for a late supper. Please can you come too so we can catch up?" Alice begged.

"Rosalie?" Bella turned towards the blonde. "Edward's cousin? Jasper's sister?"

"That's right." Rosalie replied.

"I'm Bella Swan. Alice's aunt."

"Jessica's sister?"

"Um, yes." Bella ventured timidly. "She's my half-sister." Rosalie's eyes narrowed. She and Charlotte had always detested Jessica.

"But Aunt B and Mum are like chalk and cheese!" Alice exclaimed, sensing Rosalie's wariness about her aunt. "So what do you say, Aunt B? Will you come for supper? Please?" Bella glanced at Edward, who was nodding, desperate to spend time with her.

"I'd love to but I just have to check with my friend..." Bella looked towards Emmett, who was still a little embarrassed at Rosalie's rebuff and was standing with his arms crossed. "...Alice, this is Emmett, my really good childhood friend. Em, this is my niece Alice and her father Edward."

"Hey." Edward shook hands with Emmett, a little stiffly. Edward was fiercely protective of all he loved and he wasn't sure about the big hulking guy with Bella who seemed to be hitting on his cousin.

"Hello. Good to meet you." Emmett turned to Alice. "The dancing was great, Alice. Bella was right when she said you were talented!"

"Um thanks." Alice replied. "What were you saying that upset Rosie?" Alice asked, cutting right through any small talk.

"Oh. It was a bit of a misunderstanding. You see, I think she's beautiful and want to ask her to go to dinner with me sometime soon, but she thought that I was going out with your Aunt Bella."

"_Are_ you going out with my Aunt Bella?"

"No way!" Bella exclaimed. "It would be like going out with my brother!"

Emmett and Bella laughed out loud; they both considered the idea of ever going out with each other utterly absurd.

"That's funny!" Alice relaxed and giggled along with them. "Do you want to come to supper with us too?"

Emmett looked at Rosalie. Now that she'd found out he was unattached, she was smiling sheepishly, and was twirling her hair coquettishly, brazenly looking him up and down. Emmett returned the eye-fuck.

"Actually, I, um, have to work in the morning, so I might head off now. Edward, would you be able to see Bella back to her hotel?" Bella smiled inwardly. She could sense the attraction between Rosalie and Emmett, and knew that when Emmett wanted something, he didn't like to hang back.

"Yes, of course." Edward replied, thrilled that there was nothing between Bella and Emmett. "Rosalie, supper?"

"Actually, I, um..." Rosalie's hormones were in charge, and as much as she loved her family, she wanted Emmett, that very night. "I... I'm going to have to conference call Dubai in the morning, so I'd better head off too."

"Oh no! That's a shame, Rosie? You sure?" Alice asked, although she wasn't that bothered about Rosalie coming with them. As much as she adored her, Alice saw Rosalie at least once or twice a month; at that moment, she wanted nothing more than to spend time with Bella.

"Sorry munchkin. But call me next week, OK? Lottie's finally got a part in a play that doesn't involve taking her kit off or wearing an animal costume! She's in King Lear at the Donmar Warehouse, would you believe? I'll take you and Jasper when the play opens in a few weeks, if you want."

"Thanks Rosie! See you soon." Rosalie turned to Edward and raised an eyebrow, daring him to say something about her abrupt departure.

"Uh-huh. OK." Edward knew his cousin well. "Stay safe, Rose. See you next weekend for lunch?"

"Sure, sure." Rosalie replied, who had resumed her wanton eye-fuck of Emmett and was only half paying attention. "Emmett, are you walking towards the Tube Station?"

"Yes. I'll walk with you." Emmett replied, holding out his arm for her.

"Good. Bye Cuz. Bye Alice! Nice to meet you Bella!"

The pair quickly walked off, and it wouldn't surprise Edward or Bella to find out later that Emmett and Rosalie spent the rest of the night getting to know each other rather intimately in the bedroom of Rosalie's Battersea Park maisonette.

"So, Aunt B? Supper?"

"That sounds lovely, sweetie!" Bella replied, putting her arm around Alice's shoulder as they walked. "Where are we going?"

"Aha, it's a surprise." Edward told them. "Since it's your closing night, princess, I thought we'd go somewhere special, unless you're set on any other particular place?"

"No. I don't mind where we go! I trust you Dad!"

"Me too." Bella added, biting her lip as she glanced over at him.

Edward almost stopped in his tracks as lust hit him. _She knows what the lip biting thing does to me. Words can't describe how much I've missed her._ He fell in step beside her and let his fingers brush against her free hand.

"Are you OK to walk, Bella? It's around 15 to 20 minutes but we could take a taxi or Tube?"

"I'd prefer to walk actually. It's quite a warm night. It almost feels like California!" Bella replied, touched that he was so conscientious. "So, Alice, tell me everything!"

"Everything, Aunt B?"

"Everything that you haven't told me about since I last saw you!" Alice quite happily obliged and got so caught up that she didn't really register where they were going until Edward ground to a halt outside a very fashionable, exceptionally opulent gold, blue and pink restaurant just off Golden Square.

"We're here."

Alice stopped conveying her tale of dancers fighting over the chocolate coins Bella had sent, looked up and froze.

"Dad? You're taking me to Bob Bob Ricard?"

"Yep."

"O. M. G." Alice responded before jumping up and down and hugging her father fiercely. She had wanted to go back ever since Esme and Carlisle's anniversary had been held there the previous year. Jessica had said she'd take her for her birthday but when she didn't call on the day or reply to her email, Alice had given up hope of being able to go back anytime soon.

"You're welcome, my princess!"

"But Dad, if I'd known I'd have put a dress on and done my hair and... they've got a dress code. They're not going to let me in like this!"

"Why don't we see what they say?" Edward replied, smiling a little. Bella looked at him curiously, wondering what he had planned.

The door of the restaurant opened and a friendly attendant in a suit opened the Art Deco glass panelled door.

Alice hesitantly walked in and went up to the reception desk. The receptionist looked at the sweet young girl in front of him, dressed in a tracksuit, hair in a sparkly ballet bun, and knew instantly who she was.

"Um...good evening..."

"Welcome to Bob Bob Ricard, Miss Cullen, and on behalf of the team here, congratulations on your first invitational run of performances at the Royal Ballet."

Alice was speechless. The receptionist smiled at her handsome, polite father and the pretty brunette next to him before continuing with the speech that Mr Cullen had given him earlier, along with a £200 tip.

"This was delivered here earlier in case you wanted to change, but if not, you're more than welcome to stay in your current attire."

The receptionist produced a bag from Karen Millen and handed it to Alice. A couple of the waiting staff who weren't serving stood in the doorway that led to the main restaurant and watched with interest as Alice excitedly pulled out a pleated black and white one-shouldered chiffon dress, chosen by Rosalie at Edward's request.

"Oh wow! Wow! Karen Millen and it's gorgeous! Thank you!" The receptionist merely pointed to Edward, and Alice ran into his arms. "Thank you Daddy! Thank you! I'm going to wear it now! You shouldn't have! You spoil me so much!"

"It's a pleasure, my princess. You deserve it!"

"May I suggest that I take your coats and the hostess show you to your booth, and then Miss Cullen can change while we bring your drinks?"

Everyone agreed. The hostess showed Edward, Bella and Alice to one of the rich royal blue leather-upholstered booths. Despite the late hour of 10.30pm, the restaurant was still very busy, and Edward had been lucky to get the reservation. Bella slid into one side of the booth, and Edward decided to sit next to her, to take advantage of the few precious moments alone whilst Alice was changing.

Once Alice had ordered her ginger ale, Edward his Hendricks and tonic, and Bella her Perrier with a fresh orange twist, and Alice had skipped off to the ladies' to change, Edward turned slightly towards Bella and let his hand discreetly drift over her hand which was lying on the seat of the booth between then. Bella closed her eyes as warmth instantly flooded her from his touch. They were quiet for a couple of moments.

"How are you both, Angel?" He murmured, eventually. "I can't believe you're here."

"I'm OK. Little One's OK." She entwined her fingers with his and tucked their joined hands under the edge of her flowing dress.

"How long are you here for?"

"Indefinitely." Edward coughed on his drink and Bella clarified. "I've left California, Edward. Permanently. And I've moved back to Manchester. My family are going to help me with the birth and Little One."

Edward was crushed. It felt like his heart had been mashed with a meat mallet. _She still won't have me._

"So you haven't changed your mind? About..." He gestured between the two of them.

"I-I...we can't have this conversation here, Edward." Bella replied. "I'm still trying to get my head around leaving California and my job."

Before Edward could reply Alice came back, dancing and pirouetting down the corridor, new dress swishing about her knees as she moved. Her delight was infectious as other patrons stopped eating and drinking and chatting to watch her, entranced. Edward and Bella looked at each other before laughing, their tension momentarily broken as they took in Alice's joy. Over the previous two months, they had both seen or heard enough of her distress to last a lifetime.

"Alice, you look stunning in that dress. It fits you perfectly." Bella said, leaning forward to disguise the fact that her hand was still in Edward's. She tried to let go but Edward wouldn't let her. He couldn't bear to lose the feel of her silky skin against his, not just yet.

"Thanks Aunt B! I know, right! OMG it is so perfect! Dad, how did you know to buy it?"

"Ah, that was Rosalie. We met up to buy it and drop it off before we came to the show tonight."

"Ooh, I'll text her later but right now I'm starving! Do you know what you're having yet?" Alice looked properly at her aunt for the first time as her euphoric, adrenaline-fuelled high started to fade. Now that Bella was not wearing her coat, Alice could see Bella's figure, including her rounded tummy. _Whoa, what's going on there? _

"Not yet, sweetie. Your dad and I were chatting and didn't look at the menu."

"Oh." Alice glanced over the menu. "Can I have anything I want, Dad?"

"Pretty much. I draw the line at the vodka and caviar though." Edward laughed, referring to some of the restaurant's most famous items.

"Fermented potato water and fish eggs? Eww, gross!" Alice shuddered. She would eat most things but she drew the line there. "I was thinking of the lobster burger and fries?"

"Sounds lovely, princess. I'm going for the Steak Rossini with mashed potatoes. Bella?"

"Oh, I'm torn between the Siberian _pelmeni _and the truffle _vareniki._ And the macaroni cheese side looks good too. I think I'll decide on the spot."

The waiter appeared then and took Alice and Edward's orders before turning to Bella, who was still undecided.

"I'm sorry, I'm struggling to choose. They both sound great..."

Edward gently took the menu from her hand and gave it to the waiter.

"Bring the lady both the _pelmeni _and the _vareniki_ please. And a side of macaroni cheese."

"Edward..."

"I'll help you eat it any extras." He said. _If she wants all three, she should have all three. I can't do much for her and our baby but I can at least do this._

"Thanks." Bella couldn't help but lose herself in his eyes for a split second as he stroked his thumb across her knuckles.

"So Aunt Bella, what's going on? How come you're back?" They were interrupted by Alice who was looking at Bella's baby bump. _Has Aunt B gained weight? She looks amazing, but...curvier. _"You've been holding out on me with the news!"

"Well, Alice, I have, I'm afraid. I needed to firm things up before I could tell anyone. The thing is, I wasn't very happy in California when I went back. I missed England. I missed you and my family in Manchester and I'm going to need them because..." Bella took a deep breath. "...I'm going to have a baby in September."

Alice was speechless for the second time that night.

"I'm g-g-going to have a cousin?"

"Yes." Bella replied. _No, Alice. You're going to have a brother or sister. _

"I'm going to have a cousin! Woo-hoo!" Alice leaned across the table and kissed Bella on the cheek. "That's so cool!"

"Wow. That's got to be the most enthusiastic response yet!"

"What about the baby's daddy, Aunt B?" Alice asked. "I didn't know you had a boyfriend. It isn't that Emmett guy is it? Because you know what he and Rosie are going to be doing right now?"

"Alice!" Edward admonished. It was very clear what Emmett and Rosalie would be doing- nobody could miss that chemistry- but it wasn't something he wanted his fourteen year-old daughter to be thinking about.

"What? It's the truth, Dad. I'm fourteen, not four."

Bella chuckled and so did Edward, who was reminded of Esme using the exact same line in the divorce negotiations when speaking against Jessica's nasty lawyer.

"Alice, Emmett's like my brother. He's free to see Rosalie or anyone he likes. The baby's father, well, it's complicated. It was a brief affair when I was in London before and I don't know what's going to happen with him."

Bella felt Edward grip her hand even tighter. Under the high table, she twisted her leg around his to show him that she was still his, even if she couldn't be with him, although her resolve to stick to that decision had waned since the moment she realised the extent of Jessica's coldness and selfishness.

"Oh. I hope it gets sorted out. You deserve your HEA, Aunt B."

"HEA?"

"Happily. Ever. After." Alice explained. "Nobody deserves it more than you."

"Oh, sweetie, you're going to make me cry. It doesn't take much at the moment, with the hormones."

Bella and Alice chatted about Bella's move to Manchester and Alice's hopes for dancing with the Royal Ballet again, as Edward listened, until Bella needed the loo again.

"Sorry. I just need the ladies'." She untwisted her leg from Edward's, let go of his hand and looked to him to slide out the booth. He didn't want to let go and hesitated. "Edward?"

"Dad, you need to let Aunt B out!" Alice said.

"Oh, God, sorry!" Edward quickly shifted out of the booth to let Bella out and ran his fingers through his hair as he sat back down, watching her walk away.

"Dad? You OK?" Edward snapped out of it and turned his attention to his daughter, who was looking at him curiously.

"Yeah, fine, princess."

The waiter arrived with plates of food and had just left when Bella returned. They busied themselves with the delicious meals for a while, until Alice's thoughts drifted to the rest of the weekend.

"Aunt B, when are you going back to Manchester?"

"I have an open return ticket but was going back tomorrow. I've only got the hotel room tonight."

"Oh." Alice replied, disappointment clear on her delicate features. "I was hoping we could have the whole day together tomorrow."

"Well, I could see if the hotel could let me have the room for longer..."

"You could stay with us! We could have a sleepover!"

"I don't know..." She was already scared of giving her feelings for Edward away and spending the night in their apartment would not help that.

"Please? Please? Please? It'll be so much fun!" Bella took in Alice's pleading, almost desperate face. Alice must have missed having a maternal figure so much. _Damn you to hell Jessica, neglecting your wonderful daughter so badly. _

"Edward? Would that be OK? I could sleep in the spare room or on the sofa, or..."

"Of course, Bella. You're always welcome, and there's no way you're sleeping on the sofa. The spare room's made up."

"OK then!"

"Fantastic! We can go to Oxford Street to Selfridges and go to the nail bar and..."

"Alice." Bella interrupted.

"Aunt B?"

"Sweetie, you just spent the past three weeks going to school all day and dancing all night, and you're back to school on Monday. You need to rest tomorrow or you'll get sick. Oxford Street isn't going anywhere. We can do that next time I'm down, or we can go on a shopping trip when you come visit me in Manchester."

"I guess." Alice conceded, realising that Bella had a point. "Could we do manicures at home? Maybe watch DVDs? And will you teach me a new recipe?"

"Of course, my sweetie. That sounds great."

While Alice and Bella continued chatting about nail polish colours, DVD choices and recipes, Edward had fallen in love with Bella all over again. Bella wasn't even a mother yet, and yet she instinctively put Alice's welfare first and even made Alice agree with her. If Jessica were here she'd have either agreed with the shopping trip or bluntly said no, which would have led to a raging argument or one or both of them giving the other the silent treatment.

After they'd finished supper, including sharing a massive chocolate sundae, Alice, Edward and Bella bid the staff at Bob Bob Ricard goodbye and Edward flagged a taxi. Alice was exhausted as the adrenaline from the show wore off and by the time the taxi drew up in front of Bella's hotel in Dean Street a few minutes later, she was asleep.

"Thank you for supper Edward. It was fantastic to see you and Alice again."

"You too, Bella. Alice is so happy to have you back in the country."

"I know. I'm happy too." She replied. "Are you sure it's OK for me to come round tomorrow? If it's going to complicate things..."

"Please come round. Stay over. Don't worry about anything but nail polish colours and baking. Please?"

"OK." She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, and mouthed 'I love you' at him.

"Great." Edward mouthed 'I love you' back.

"Is 11am OK?"

"Perfect. See you then."

-cc-

**AN: Next chapter, next Wednesday! **

**CC **


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Sunday Bonus! I might not be able to post on Wednesday so I'm posting early, seeing as I'm posting to 'High Stays the Tide' as well. Thank you so much for all your reviews and sorry I haven't replied to them. **

**Story length update: So first it was going to be seven chapters long, then twelve, and now... I have no idea. Therefore I'm not going to make anymore estimates. The more I write, the more I find to write with this story! I think it will still be shorter than my other stories though. **

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 10**

Edward and Alice returned home to the apartment in Shad Thames around 1am. Alice didn't stir at all as he put her to bed and it warmed his heart to see that she was smiling in her slumber. He himself tossed and turned, excited and worried all at the same time about Bella spending the whole day with them, before eventually falling asleep around 5am.

The next morning, at precisely 11am, the doorbell rang and Alice hurried to open it.

"Aunt B! What did you get?" Bella walked in, followed by the concierge who had helped her carry up her overnight bag and the two bags of shopping Bella had brought with her. Bella thanked him and he departed quietly.

"Well, I thought we could make homemade pizza with salad for lunch and Dizzy Cookies, and Tandoori Chicken and Veggie Pilau Rice for dinner. I figured you wouldn't have any of the stuff." Bella replied.

"Yummy. What are Dizzy Cookies?"

"They're swirls of plain and chocolate cookie dough. They're really cool!"

"They sound brill!" Alice replied, leaning up to kiss Bella on the cheek. "Would you like some tea? I was just going to make some for Dad. He's still asleep."

"Yeah? Is he having a bit of a lie-in?"

"I don't think he slept well. His sheets were all twisted around him when I went in earlier so I thought I'd leave him for a bit."

"Oh." Bella felt overcome, all of a sudden. She hadn't slept that well herself and wondered if Edward's sleep had been affected by her as much as hers had been affected by him. "Tea would be lovely, sweetie. A weak one though. I have to watch the caffeine intake." She said, rubbing her tummy lightly.

"OK. I won't be a minute. Have a seat Aunt B."

Bella gladly sat down in the middle of the cream sofa and curled her legs under her. It felt somewhat surreal to be back in the apartment she had called home for nine months as a guest. Alice dipped out of the kitchen to take a mug of tea to Edward and then came over to the sofa carrying a tray of tea things for herself and her aunt.

"Dad's still asleep but I shook him a little. I guess he'll be out in a while." Alice told her as she handed a cup to Bella and sat down beside her with her own.

"Thank you."

"What's it like, Aunt Bella? Being pregnant?"

"Um..." Bella wasn't quite sure how to answer the question. "Weird, in a good way. I can't really explain it. But from the moment I realised I was pregnant, it was like my whole world turned on its head. It's like my heart grew from here..." Bella pressed her hand against her chest. "...to here..." she moved her hand to her swelling tummy. "...and filled me with the purest, deepest love. And as Little One grows, so does that love. There's nothing I wouldn't do for my baby."

"Wow. That's amazing! He's such a lucky baby to have you as a mum, Aunt B!"

"Thanks sweetie." Bella replied." He?"

"I don't know if it is a boy but that's what my gut instinct says. Do you mind what you have?" Bella shook her head.

"Boy, girl, koala..." Alice giggled. "...it doesn't matter. I'll love this Little One the same."

"I know you will." Alice couldn't help but think of her own mother. _She can't have ever loved me like that. Otherwise she'd have fought for me._

"Hey. Where'd that frown come from?" Bella asked gently, cupping Alice's face with one hand.

"Sorry Aunt B. It's nothing."

"You thinking of your mum, sweetie?" Alice nodded and curled into Bella's side. Bella wrapped her arm around Alice and let her bury her face into her shoulder before kissing the top of her head. _Seriously. Damn you to hell, Jessica, for doing this to your only child._ "It's OK." Alice mumbled something into Bella's shoulder. "What was that?"

"Sometimes I wish she was you." Alice whispered before drying a couple of stray tears. "You've loved me more in this past year than she did for the whole of my life." Bella's heart lurched and her eyes burned with hot unshed tears.

"And I always will. Even when Little One arrives, you'll always be right in my heart, my sweetie." Alice hugged Bella again.

"Little One's seriously, like, the luckiest kid ever." Alice told her sincerely. "Is he moving around yet?"

"Mmm...I can feel little flutters sometimes but no big kicks."

"Can I...can I feel?"

"Of course." Bella picked up Alice's slim, dainty hand and placed it on the side of her firm abdomen. As Alice pressed lightly, Bella felt the flutters as they migrated towards Alice's hand.

"Ooh! That's amazing! Like little butterflies!"

"Little One likes you! I've never felt the movements so strongly before!"

"Wow!" Alice slowly slid her hand over Bella's navel and her bright blue eyes widened as the movements followed.

Tears tumbled down both Bella's peaches-and-cream cheeks. _Little One knows who's family. Who's his sister._ As Bella wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, she happened to look up to see a bewildered Edward. He had woken up not long before, to the distant sound of Alice and Bella's comingled voices. He had gotten up, drunk the tea and then padded out to find them. They didn't notice him as he hovered in the wide archway between the living area and the corridor to the bedrooms, watching as his daughter and the love of his life interacted so beautifully. And there were no words for how it made him feel to see Alice's little hand pressing Bella's gravid abdomen.

"Edward."

"Hey." He shuffled forward, wearing a threadbare black t-shirt and grey flannel pyjama bottoms. His coppery hair was wild and unruly. Bella saw his green eyes dart from hers to her tummy to Alice and couldn't help but beam at him.

"Dad, the baby likes me! He's fluttering against my hand!" Alice told him excitedly.

"He?"

"Alice thinks so. I don't know for sure." Bella replied simply. She tapped the empty spot on the sofa next to her and Edward hesitantly sat down.

"Dad it's so cool. You should feel it!"

"Um...I don't know..." Of course, he was desperate to touch her, to feel his child move, but he was still hesitant.

"It's OK Edward." _Please._ Bella begged him silently with her eyes. She wanted to feel his hands on their child more than anything. Edward slowly moved his hand and pressed it against the side of Bella's tummy.

Little One reacted rapidly. Bella felt a soft whirling sensation and then a sudden jolt, right against Edward's hand.

"Oh!"

"Whoa!"

"OMG! He kicked!"

"He's never done that before! Kicked like that! Wow!" Bella cried.

She suddenly burst into tears. _Little One also knows who's Daddy. He feels at home here, just like me. _

"Bella! Are you OK?"

"Aunt B?"

"I'm fine! I really am." She said, through the tears. "I just..." she started sobbing.

"Alice, please could you go fetch Bella a glass of water and some tissues?" Edward asked, and Alice obliged. Once she was in the kitchen, Edward pulled Bella towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and cried helplessly, holding onto him for dear life. The warmth of his skin and his distinctive smell- citrus and seaside with a hint of earthiness- soothed her instantly.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Everything will be OK Bella. It will."

Alice rushed to find a box of tissues and picked up a glass of water. As she returned to the living area, she stopped for a moment as she saw Bella crying in her father's arms. She didn't know why but the sight made her feel strange. _It should be weird to see them hug like that, right? So why doesn't it feel weird?_

Bella let go of Edward as soon as she sensed Alice had returned.

"Sorry Sweetie. Hormone overload." Bella said. "I cry at everything nowadays, good or bad."

"That's OK. I get it. Feeling Little One move like that was awesome for me. I can only imagine how wow it felt for you."

Bella responded by kissing her niece on the cheek.

"Um..." Edward stood up. "I'm going to go to the gym, and I'll grab a shower there." He said. The experience of feeling his child had been astonishing, just like when he felt Alice move for the first time in Jessica's tummy. However, seeing Bella cry so helplessly had been excruciating, and he needed to deal with his frustration at their situation.

"OK, Dad. Make sure you're back in a couple of hours. We're making pizza for lunch."

"Will do, princess. See you both later."

-cc-

Edward ran on the treadmill until he was close to collapse. He hit the punch bag over and over again until the skin on his knuckles started to crack. He lifted weights until his muscles burned and pulled. All he wanted was to live a simple, quiet life with Bella, their baby and Alice. It killed him to hear her refer to Little One as her cousin. _Why do things have to be so complicated? _

After a blisteringly hot shower, he slowly made his way back to the apartment. He felt better and had psyched himself up to spending the whole day with Bella without doing what he really wanted to do- kiss her, hold her, touch her skin and never let her go. He was also hoping that he would be able to grab a few moments to talk about Little One's future. Regardless of Bella's decision not to be with him, he wanted to secure the future of their child.

By the time he returned, Bella and Alice been to the DVD rental store and then had produced some delicious, golden, cheesy pizza with an Italian salad, which they ate whilst watching Mamma Mia, Alice's choice of DVD. During Bella's choice, Before Sunrise, Bella gave Alice a manicure and vice-versa, whilst Edward watched them more than the movie, still fascinated by the way the two most important people in his life related and interacted.

By the end of Before Sunrise, Alice had perfect alternating candy pink and baby blue fingernails, and was sniffling away tears.

"Wow! That was so romantic! Do you think that they actually meet again? Or do they only have that one night in Vienna?" Alice asked. She had completely fallen in love with her Aunt B's favourite movie.

"Well... I think that they find their way back to each other, but I don't think it's as easy as coming back in a few months. I think that they'll have to go through some ups and downs on the way before they realise they are soulmates and nothing should keep them apart." Edward replied, looking at Bella who blushed.

"You might be right Edward. Maybe they'll connect again and realise that they belong together, once a few hurdles are overcome." Bella smiled briefly at him and suppressed the urge to giggle as Edward smiled back at her, hope all over his face.

"It's a shame we never get to find out." Alice said as her mobile beeped. She reached for it, being careful of her nails.

_Zippy: I bloody hate John Steinbeck. Of Mice and Men is shit and so is this essay. Miss you Bubbles! How's your Aunt? Got time to chat for a few mins? Need to hear your voice! xoox_

Alice's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't seen Jasper in over three weeks apart from after he and the rest of the Cullens came to see her perform, and she had missed him desperately.

"Well, actually, there is a sequel..." Bella replied.

"Huh?" Alice looked up from her mobile. "Sorry Aunt B, I missed that."

"It's OK sweetie. I just said that there is a sequel. It's called Before Sunset."

"Cool." Alice's mind was completely on Jasper. She was desperately trying to think of a way to excuse herself for fifteen minutes to talk to him. "Um..."

"Alice, I'm going to start making dinner. Why don't you phone your friend for a bit and then come help me?" Bella suggested. She could tell by Alice's face that she really wanted to talk to whoever had texted her. _Judging by that face, I'll bet it's a boy._

"Would that be OK?" Alice asked. "I know we're supposed to be spending the day together but..."

"Of course! Edward, will you help me until Alice gets back?" Edward nodded, desperate himself for a few snatched minutes of alone time with Bella. "There you are. Go chat to your friend."

"Thank you! I promise I won't be too long!" Alice grabbed her phone, kissed Bella on the cheek and bounced off to her bedroom to call Jasper.

Bella started collecting up the glasses and plates that littered the coffee table.

"You don't have to do that, Bella." Edward said, taking a plate from her. "You're technically the guest!"

"Team effort?" Edward nodded. Together they took everything into the kitchen and worked silently to put items in the dishwasher.

"This feels a bit like déjà-vu." Edward commented.

"I was just thinking that!" Bella laughed. "Eyes meeting over the dishwasher!" She glanced up and sure enough, Edward's eyes were focussed on her.

"Bella...angel..."

"Edward..."

One of them, neither could be sure who, kicked the dishwasher door closed and they both rushed forward into each other's arms.

"My love, my darling Bella..." Edward murmured, before his lips descended upon hers. He wrapped an arm around her waist and cupped her face with his free hand.

"Mmm..." Bella felt the walls of resistance come tumbling down as she melted into his kiss. _How can I stay away? I can't. I can't. _

Somehow, she found the will to stop and put some distance between them. It was far too early for Alice to find out about their relationship and she could have walked in at any moment. Edward's divorce needed to go through first, at the very least.

"No..." Edward gave a feeble mumble of protest but he too, knew that they needed to stop.

"Alice is yards away." She whispered against his lips. She pecked them lightly before moving apart from him and going to the fridge to pull out the ingredients for dinner.

"Bella, we really do need to talk about some things though."

"I know". Bella looked back at him.

"Your decision not to be with me. How strong do you feel about that now? Because the way you just kissed me..."

"The safe thing to do is to take Little One and run. Keep as much distance as possible. But that's not fair on him. I want my baby to know his father and sister, and I want to know them too." Bella whispered. "I want to be with you Edward."

"Yeah?" Edward's heart swelled with happiness.

"Yeah. I was trying to be loyal to my sister, but if she doesn't care enough about her daughter to even try to email her, then she doesn't deserve it. Nothing's more important than Little One and Alice. Although it will be difficult and awkward and I'm pretty sure that Alice will hate me when she finds out, I realise now that, eventually, the best thing for both of us will be to be with the both of you. Which is good, because I want that more than anything."

"You do?"

"Yes. I always did, deep down."

"Are you sure, angel?" He walked over to her and reached for her hand. "I need you to be sure."

"Baby, I'm sure."

Edward replied by lifting their joined hands and kissing them. As he lowered them, Bella moved his hand onto her tummy, and once again, Little One responded by fluttering away.

"Wow."

"Little One knows you. You're ours and we're yours, baby."

-cc-

After dinner, Alice decided she didn't want to watch another DVD yet.

"We can watch Walk the Line in a while, Dad! Please play the piano? Please?"

"Bella?"

"I would love to hear you play, Edward." She agreed. "Something uplifting." Edward immediately launched into Sergei Rachmaninoff's_ Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini _and Alice clapped.

"Yay!" Alice started to twirl around the spacious room, letting the feel of the music guide her movements.

Bella was mesmerised by Edward playing the piano, his eyes closed. She was stood by the instrument where she had a view of Alice dancing, the London skyline and Edward all at the same time. The piece was hauntingly romantic and expressed Edward's heartfelt desires better than he ever could in words. He had become absorbed in the music, his feelings and his turmoil, but as he started to bring the piece to a close, he opened his eyes to find two orbs of chocolate brown piercing him. He found himself trapped, caught up in her beauty, unable to do anything but stare at her as his fingers glided over the keys.

Bella could not take her eyes off him. She too was lost, but in a daydream of dancing in Edward's arms to the emotive music. Little One seemed to be dancing inside her as well, fluttering lightly against the wall of her tummy. They were so caught up in their mutual gazing that neither noticed Alice had stopped dancing and was watching them uncertainly. As he played the final note, Edward finally drifted back to reality.

"Um, yeah, so..." he stammered.

"Aunt B?"

"Uh, yes, sweetie?" Bella pulled herself away from staring at Edward to look at her niece.

"You're crying."

"I am?" Bella wiped her cheeks to find them wet. "God, not again! Sorry."

"There's nothing to apologise for Bella." Edward said quietly.

"It's just that I adore Rachmaninoff, and that piece in particular. It feels like it's describing a love... it moved me, I guess."

"It's one of Dad's favourites too. You guys have really similar taste in music." Alice observed, the strange sensation from earlier, when she saw Bella crying in Edwards arms, returning.

Bella blushed, thinking of how much she and Edward had laughed that one night when they compared iPods and saw that they could almost have been interchangeable, and how hot it had been when Edward had made love to her whilst they were sharing earphones, listening to Paula Cole's _Feeling Love. _

Alice noticed her blush. _What's that all about?_

Edward couldn't play anymore. It had become too much, feeling their intense connection and not being able to act upon it. His heart ached, his stomach was full of nervous knots and his groin was painfully hard. He stood up abruptly, thankful that he was wearing his shirt untucked.

"Um, I just remembered... I have to phone err... Esme about something. I'll be back in a little while. Alice, why don't you make us all some hot chocolate and we can have it, and those cookies you and Aunt Bella made, in front of the movie."

"Err...sure Dad." Edward cast a look at Bella before rushing off to his bedroom. Alice watched him go before turning to Bella who was gnawing at her lip. "Um..." _What's going on between you and Dad?_ "...I think we may even have marshmallows somewhere." Something told her not to ask about it. Not yet.

By the time Edward returned, Alice had made the hot chocolate, found the marshmallows and the can of squirty cream, placed some of the Dizzy Cookies on a plate and loaded everything onto a tray.

"Sorry about that." He apologised. "That hot chocolate smells great."

"No problem Dad. Ready for Walk the Line?"

"Of course!" Edward thought Johnny Cash was a genius.

"Just don't be singing along too much!" Alice joked. "He can get carried away sometimes." Bella merely nodded and followed them out back to the living area, feeling tired and weary from the emotional rollercoaster she had been on since arriving in London the previous day.

Bella had been right to insist that Alice have a day at home, relaxing. She fell asleep with her head on Bella's lap and her legs draped across Edward's, not even halfway through the film. Neither Bella nor Edward moved and kept watching the movie in silence, except that Edward let his arm rest along the back of the sofa, and his reach was long enough that he could touch the ends of Bella's hair. She instinctively tilted her head towards him and he twirled the strands in his fingers; it was the lightest of touches but they soothed them both. _It's not that long. Only a few months and I'll be able to sit next to her and touch her and kiss her the way I want. _

At the end of the movie, Alice stirred and Edward nudged her.

"Alice? Bedtime, princess."

"Mmm...'K" She lifted herself off Bella and off Edward and sat up. "Will you be awake early Aunt B?"

"How early is early?"

"I leave for school around 7.30. It takes an hour to get there."

"Wow. That's quite a commute."

"I'd way rather be here than in Hampstead. It's nearer to my ballet classes and to Dad's work."

"OK. Well I will be up although I'll be in my pyjamas."

"Cool. Good night!" She hugged Bella before going to bed.

Edward was wondering what to do next but Bella chose for the both of them. The moment Alice's door was shut she pulled him by the hand into the kitchen, shut the door and pushed him against it.

"I need you." She whispered. "I can't wait anymore."

"Here?"

"Yeah." Bella bit her lip nervously. "If she wakes up we'll hear her door open but because of the hum of the fridge and the dressing room being in between the kitchen and her bedroom she won't hear us."

"You planned this?"

"Just a little. I hate deceiving her but Edward, I need to feel you again. Please baby?" Bella ran her hand up his chest, up his neck and along his jaw before tangling it in his hair and pulling the soft strands gently. Edward moaned softly.

"I've missed you every moment of every day, my angel." He sighed. She curled around him and pressed her lips to the base of his throat. "Oh God..." Bella kissed and licked her way up his neck until she found his mouth. Their tongues danced eagerly; their hands roamed each other's bodies.

Edward found the hem of her mauve jersey tunic and dipped under it, moving higher and higher until he made contact with the soft firm skin of her tummy. Bella undid the buttons of his blue shirt while he continued to run his hand over her abdomen, pushing down her stretchy black Capri pants to feel the expanse of skin better.

Bella reciprocated by kissing along his now exposed collarbones whilst unbuttoning the top button of his jeans.

"I want...aah..." she gasped as Edward pulled down the cups of her bra and caressed her breasts which were larger and far more sensitive thanks to her pregnancy.

"What do you want, angel?"

"This. Your hands...everywhere."

"Everywhere?" He let one hand drift from her breast over her tummy and to the edge of her simple black panties. Her breathing became rapid and shallow with anticipation and she nodded. "Now?"

"Yes!" She moaned. "Edward, my love, now!" He didn't keep her waiting. He dived under her panties and found her hot, wet slit.

"Angel, you're dripping."

"For you." She breathed. "Ah!" He rubbed her clitoris with two fingers, round and round in circles.

"Good?"

"Yes. Yes!" He removed his other hand from her breast and drew her closer to him, bending his knees a little so he didn't tower over her so much, and kissed her, all the while rubbing her clit. Bella was supremely close to coming so buried her face in Edward's shoulder, even biting the material of his shirt to stop herself from crying out loud.

"Bella, you close?" He sped up the circles and she moaned around the cotton between her teeth, her hips bucking against his hand.

"Mmm...mmm...mmm!" Her breaths sped up as her release came forth and she let go of his shirt. "Whoa...amazing!" She whispered, peppering his jaw and neck with little kisses. Edward held her against him and breathed in her freesia and strawberry scent. It was sensual and comforting all at the same time. He didn't, however, remove his hand from her panties.

"Glad you liked it." He murmured. "It's the stuff of my dreams, feeling your orgasm." He told her, finding her lips with his. "You want another one?" She smiled against his mouth and nodded.

"Please. I've been so desperate for your touch. I need as much as you can give me."

"You can have everything when it comes to me. Everything. It's all yours." Edward told her, before plunging two fingers deep inside her pussy.

"Holy..." Bella bit Edward's shirt again as he curled his fingers and pressed lightly, knowing, from their previous encounter that she was especially likely to climax hard if he tapped her there.

"Beautiful..." He pressed and wriggled his fingers alternately, over and over again. "I can feel you're close. You're so tight, my angel."

"God, so good..." she mumbled around the shirt. "Mmm...ahh...mm...aah! Ah!" The second orgasm was incredibly intense as she came around Edward's long fingers.

"So sexy!" He told her, kissing her deeply before removing his fingers from her. Whilst she watched, dark eyes wide with lust, he sucked his fingers clean. "You taste amazing."

Bella pulled him away from the door of the kitchen and swapped places with him.

"What..." She pushed her Capri pants to the floor and stepped out of them. "Bella, what are you doing?"

"Your turn, baby."

"Bella you don't have to. It's enough for me to..."

"Edward?" He stopped talking and listened. "Time for you to fuck me."

"Here?"

"Here and now."

"But Little One...?"

"Little One won't be affected. If anything he's probably in a double-orgasm happy hormone induced daze right now. Please?" Edward took in Bella's coltish legs, the appealing blush and flush on her skin and the 'come hither' look in her eyes and immediately closed the space between them.

"How can I ever deny you?" He whispered. Her hands immediately went to his fly, and within seconds his jeans and boxers were around his ankles. "Are you sure you want it against the door?" It would be sexy as hell to take her there but he worried that it would be painful or demeaning.

"Definitely. Who knows when I'm going to get this opportunity again? And even if I do, pretty soon I'll be too big for it. So don't keep me waiting."

He didn't. In one swift move he lifted her onto his cock and both of them gasped. Despite the fact that they had spent just one night together before, their union was a homecoming. Bella cherished the fullness of his member inside her. Edward relished her tight heat enveloping him. As he moved in and out their connections, emotional and physical, only deepened.

"Bella...so tight..."

"Edward, I love you."

"I love you, angel."

He thrust faster and faster enjoying her low moans against his shoulder. He gave up being gentle and pounded her, trying not to rattle the door in case Alice woke up.

"Close...fuck...Edward!" Bella came again, and Edward could feel her walls spasm around him.

"Me too, my love."

Edward pounded faster, before suddenly climaxing himself, deep inside her. As he got his breath back he gathered Bella up in his arms and held onto her tightly and let go of the tears that had been pricking at the back of his eyes for almost the whole day. They fell onto her hair and she wiped them away.

"Edward?"

"Sorry angel, I just can't believe you're coming back to me soon, that we're going to be a family."

"I'm just going to lay low until the divorce comes through and then we'll figure things out. But I'm yours. I promise you."

"What changed your mind? You seemed so certain that you wouldn't be with me before, because of Jessica."

Bella looked away from him and stepped out of his arms before pulling up her panties and Capri pants.

"Let me tell you the exact details tomorrow, but suffice to say, she doesn't deserve my loyalty. She didn't deserve you and she sure as shit didn't deserve a child as wonderful as Alice."

"What did she do?" Edward asked warily. "Did she say something?"

"Something? She said lots of somethings!" Bella replied heatedly. "She...she...!" Bella couldn't speak as anger surged through her.

"OK, angel. Tell me tomorrow. Don't let thoughts of her ruin the magic that just happened between us." He pulled her back into his arms and rocked her gently.

"You're right." She tilted her head up and found his mouth. They kissed gently for a minute. "I wish I was spending the night in your arms."

"Me too, but Alice has a habit of wondering in whenever she wakes up, especially recently."

"It's fine." She said, but with a tinge of disappointment.

"What time do you have to be away tomorrow?"

"I need to be in Manchester by 5.30pm for my antenatal class, so I need to be on a train by 3pm at the latest."

"So we have time to talk and...stuff?"

"We do."

"Good." He kissed her once more before they parted to go to bed, separately, each counting the moments until they could sleep in one another's arms.

-cc-

**AN: If you've never seen Bella's choice of movie, Before Sunrise, go see it! It's the story of an American guy, played by Ethan Hawke, and a French girl, played by Julie Delpy, who meet on a train and decide to spend a night exploring Vienna together before going on their journeys home. It's absolutely beautiful. It has a sequel called Before Sunset, which is set in Paris, and that too, is stunnng. **


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Phew, home just in time to post this chapter! Thank you all so much for your reviews. You all rock! I hope this one lives up to expectations!**

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 11**

Alice woke up at 6.30 and groaned. She did not want to go to school. The weekend had been ace and spending the previous day with Aunt Bella had been brilliant. Talking about the baby, cooking together, chatting about dancing and her ambitions, listening to Aunt Bella's sound advice and encouragement... Alice didn't want her to go.

Alice padded out to her dressing room and pulled out her school uniform. As school uniforms went, it wasn't that bad. It consisted of a navy pleated skirt that fell to the knee, a silver-grey fitted short-sleeved blouse that had waist ties, a navy wraparound cardigan and a navy blazer, edged with silver-grey, and with the school's emblem in silver grey embroidery over the left breast pocket. She thought of Jasper's school uniform and shuddered. He had to wear a nasty poo-brown suit with a mustard-yellow shirt and brown, orange and yellow striped tie.

During her shower, Alice thought of the strange feelings that came over her when watching her father and Aunt Bella interact. They never seemed to say much to each other, but there were little things that suggested that they just instinctively _got_ each other. When serving dinner the previous night, Aunt Bella had given him a leg piece of the chicken, like she knew he preferred dark meat. Without asking, her father had left off the whipped cream when handing Aunt B her hot chocolate last night, but gave her extra marshmallows, like he knew she hated whipped cream on hot he played the piano these days, he started with Debussy or Rachmaninoff, Aunt Bella's favourites. It was merely coincidence that they were living in her old apartment, right?

She dried off and sat down at her dressing table to do her hair, which she'd dyed dark chocolate brown, the colour of Aunt Bella's, because it looked better for the performances. She had been growing it for nine months and it was now shoulder-length. As she stared at herself, her prevailing thought was that with longer chocolate brown hair, she looked more like Aunt Bella than she did Jessica. _If she were my mother, she'd never leave me. She'd never cheat on Dad with The Ri-dork-ulous Shitface. She'd never try to screw him over for the money Grandpa Ed and Grandma Wizzie left him. Aunt B hates not contributing. She even tried to pay for her own supper on Saturday night._

Suddenly, the different strands of thought in her mind started knotting together. _Aunt Bella is Dad's perfect match. _They had numerous things in common. They valued hard work and education. They were both loyal and loved their families dearly, even when certain family members were being idiots. They had eerily similar taste in music. They both loved art and culture, and weren't really into sports but looked after their health. They both loved food and culinary arts. _But it's weird right? Aunt B is my mother's sister. So why did it seem so natural to see her in Dad's arms, being comforted? _

By the time Alice was dressed and ready for breakfast, Bella was up and had a cup of tea ready for her along with some fruit salad drizzled with yoghurt, pumpkin seeds and honey. She was also getting ready to make French toast.

"Wow Aunt B! You didn't need to do this! I'd have been OK with cereal, but I'm never going to say no to fruit salad and French toast!"

"I wanted to set you up with a good breakfast before I go. I'm going to miss cooking with and for you when I head back up to Manchester."

"You don't have to go, you know. You could stay longer."

"I'd love to but I have to get back today. My antenatal classes are starting." Bella hated to see her niece's disappointed face. "You could come up and see me soon though, if your dad's OK with it."

"I'd love to! I wish..." Alice tailed off, not sure if she should say what she was about to say.

"You wish what, sweetie?" Bella asked. "Alice?"

"I wish that you lived here, that you had come back to London instead of Manchester."

"Oh Alice. I'm only a two hour train ride away." Bella turned the pan off and came round the breakfast bar before hugging her niece. "It's complicated, me being in London, and because I'm not working, I need to be careful with money. London's an expensive place, sweetie. It's cheaper to live in Manchester."

"I get it. I just miss you. You've been so good to me."

"I'm always here for you, my sweetie. OK?"

"And Dad too? Even though he's divorcing Mum?"

"And Edward too. You will always be my family." Bella told her._ Just not the way you think._

They continued to chat about Alice's week and tentative plans for her to visit Manchester, once Edward had given his approval. Just as Alice was finishing breakfast, Edward came in, still in his pyjamas.

"Dad, you're not dressed for work yet?" He usually got up when she did.

"Err...no. I didn't sleep too well again. I'm going to take my time this morning."

"OK, well I better get going. Don't want to be late!" Alice put her plate, bowl and cup away and hugged Bella and her father before picking up her bag.

"Bye Aunt B! Convince Dad to let me come visit you in Manchester, will you?"

"I'll do my best!" Bella replied as she gave Alice one final hug and kiss.

Once Alice was out the door, Edward came up behind Bella and encircled her waist with his arms. She leant back against him and let him sway her from side to side.

"How did you sleep?" He asked huskily.

"Not great." She admitted. "I wanted to come to you."

"Me too." He kissed her ear and started kissing his way down her neck. "But I'm here now."

"So you are." She turned around in his arms. "Take me to bed, Edward?"

"Of course, my angel."

Edward led Bella to his bedroom and lay her down. He stood over her for a moment, just admiring her. Her dark hair spilled across his rumpled sheets; her deep dark eyes were as big as saucers as she took him in. She started to unbutton her pyjama top, slowly revealing the creamy white skin of her chest, and then her abdomen. Edward leaned over her to pull first her pyjama top, and then her bottoms, away from her skin. His pyjama bottoms and t-shirt also ended up on the floor.

"Kiss me, Edward." Bella murmured as Edward came to lie next to her. She didn't have to ask him twice. Edward kissed her long and slow, and then kissed all over her neck, along her collarbones and down to her chest. He marvelled at her enlarged breasts, including her larger dark pink nipples. He flicked them with his tongue and then pursed his lips around them. Bella squirmed with delight under him as her excitement built, and her groin became flooded with moisture. She crossed her legs but the pressure caused her arousal to rise even further.

"Oh God!" She moaned. Edward continued to suck her nipples but he moved a hand down to her heated core and pushed his fingers into the crevice formed from her groin and her crossed thighs. He slowly stroked her hot slit and before he'd even made contact with her clitoris, she exploded with delight, crying out his name.

"Wow! I barely touched you, my angel."

"You barely need to. It's like every hormone in my body sings for you, baby." She responded breathily. Edward kissed her his reply. He pulled his hand from her hot centre and placed it on her tummy as he did so, and Little One responded with a nudge against his hand.

"Are you sure he doesn't mind us... you know?" Edward wondered aloud.

"It's perfectly safe, baby. Generally, if I like it, he likes it." She covered his hand with his. "And I like it. I really, _really _like it!" Bella moved her lips down his chin and sucked at the base of his throat.

"You are such a minx!" Edward teased as he enjoyed the feel of her tongue against his skin. "My minx!"

"Yes, I am."Bella replied earnestly.

He lay her back down and resumed his exploration of her skin, this time focussing on her swollen abdomen for a while before heading for her hot, wet slit. He blew on it softly and inhaled deeply, enjoying her scent.

"You smell so delicious, angel." He told her before delving in with his tongue. She gasped as he buried his face between her thighs and lapped her sex greedily, holding her thighs with each of his arms. "Mmm..."

"Don't stop, baby! Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop!" Bella chanted, sitting up slightly to see him. Edward's tongue against her clit teased her relentlessly, and she soon shuddered to a climax. "Whoa! So good!" She exclaimed, flopping back against the pillows.

"I aim to please, my love, but I'm not done with you yet!" Bella barely had time to glance back at him before she found herself turned over onto her front on her hands and knees. "Do you want me to take you like this?" He asked, his voice rough with lust.

"Yes! Hell yes!"

Edward gripped her hips and slipped into her welcoming canal, trembling with pleasure as her tight, hot muscles gripped his hard cock.

"God, Bella, so hot!" He exclaimed. He started to move inside her, in desperate need of friction, and occasionally kissed up and down her spine.

"Feels so amazing, baby, having you inside me! I love you!"

"I... love... you... both!" Edward stuttered in between thrusts. One of his hands left her hips and felt for her large, pendulous breasts, which he cupped and caressed gently.

"I think I'm going to come again!" Bella cried. "Again! Wow!" His cock rubbed her special spot until she could do nothing but climax.

Edward felt her release around his hard member; the waves of tightening were sheer bliss, and he followed her into nirvana. He held onto her while he rode out the final crests of pleasure, before rolling back onto the bed. Bella curled into his side and he pulled her closer, so that she was draped across him. Bella found the edge of the duvet with her free hand and yanked it over them. Ensconced in the warmth of each other and the thick blanket, they fell into a contented slumber.

-cc-

Edward woke up a couple of hours later wrapped in the duvet, but Bella was not next to him. He pulled on his pyjamas, and spotted that his t-shirt was missing. He made his way out to the living area, where his Bella was standing at the piano, looking at some of the framed photographs Edward had placed there.

"Hey." He mumbled. "You OK, angel?" Bella turned round and kissed him softly.

"I'm good thanks. I just woke up starving. Thanks to Little One, when I'm hungry, I'm absolutely deranged with it. I have to stop everything and eat."

"I guess we didn't have breakfast." He acknowledged. "Mmm, you taste delicious. What are you eating?" He glanced at her plate.

"PB and J." She replied.

"Huh?"

"Peanut butter and jelly, on toast. Except by jelly, Americans mean jam. Strawberry this time."

"I've heard about Americans eating the two together but I've never actually had it before."

"It's yum! Here!" She picked up the toast and fed him some.

"Wow, yum indeed!"

"Finish it, I'm done. I had three pieces!"

"Sure?" Bella nodded. He took the piece from her. Bella smiled and turned to the photos. "I was just looking at this photo." She picked up an old photograph from a wedding. "Your parents' wedding?"

"That's right. And there's Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle. They'd only just started dating then. It was the first time Esme met the Cullen family."

"Who's that?" Bella pointed to a slightly hunched young woman, with deep, wild curly auburn hair and huge almond shaped green eyes, and high cheekbones. She was dressed in a lilac bridesmaid dress, but appeared somewhat shy, like she didn't really want to be there.

"That was my aunt Cynthia. My mother's younger sister. She died not long after I was born. She had a lot of problems. She was born with some learning difficulties and had mental health issues. Mum never liked to talk about her." Edward explained, recalling Elizabeth's pained expression whenever Cynthia's name was brought up.

"You look like her, perhaps even more than you look like your mother."

"Yeah, it's been said before. I don't look like the Cullen side of the family at all. I definitely got more Masen genes. The Cullens, as you can see are all blonde hair and blue eyes."

"I wonder what Little One will look like." Bella said, leaning back against him. He wrapped his arms around her and her swollen tummy.

"I'd like him or her to have your eyes. They're mesmerising."

"I'd love him or her to have the crazy Masen reddish brown mane. When you're asleep, it looks like this fiery halo around your head. A bit like a lion's mane!" They both laughed.

"I think he or she will be quite a lot taller than Alice. You're taller than Jessica. She's around 5 foot, I think." Edward commented.

"Yes, my father's 6 foot. From what I remember, Jessica's father was quite short and Renee's only 5'2".

"We should talk about the future, angel. Little One. I feel terrible that I've not contributed anything towards looking after you."

"You don't need to, Edward."

"But I want to. I could set up a standing order..."

"No. Absolutely not!" Bella replied sharply, utterly aghast at the idea. "I don't need it, not at all. And I definitely don't want it! Besides, how will you explain payments to me if Jessica or her lawyers get hold of your accounts?"

"I suppose." Edward gently guided her to the sofa so they could talk some more. "What did Jessica do, Bella, to upset you so much? You were so set on us not being together because of her."

Bella took a deep breath and explained about the events of the disastrous lunch in Carmel and the blazing row with Renee and Jessica.

The conversation moved onto their plans for the future. They finally decided that Bella would stay in Manchester until the birth, and that they would tell Alice about their relationship a month after the final divorce document, the decree absolute, came through. Once Alice was used to the idea, they would plan for Bella and Little One to move to London.

They agreed that Edward would not contact Bella directly and vice versa, but if anything important came up, she would contact him via Esme, and vice versa. Edward agreed to Alice spending a weekend with Bella in Manchester in a few weeks' time. Edward would not be present for the birth but would bring Alice to see Little One as soon as possible, depending on what happened with the divorce. Edward had already doubled the money to Alice's trust fund, with the intention of separating it into two funds for Alice and Little One as soon as the divorce came through.

After showering together, which had led to a quickie under the spray, Bella and Edward had lunch together and decided to say a proper, private goodbye in the apartment. He kissed her deeply and promised her that she had his love always. She did the same.

-cc-

Edward was heading to the shop for the afternoon, so he walked Bella to the Tube station at London Bridge. They kept their discussion safe and mostly talked about Alice's dancing and the pending visit to Manchester in a few weeks' time. After a chaste kiss on the cheek goodbye, Bella headed down the escalator towards the Northern Line, which would take her to the National Rail station at Euston. Edward watched her leave until he could no longer see her form and then, with a heavy heart, turned towards the escalator for the Jubilee Line in order to get the Tube to Green Park.

Neither Edward nor Bella noticed that they were being followed from the apartment building to the Tube by an unremarkable-looking African guy in his early 30s, wearing jeans, trainers, a grey long-sleeved t-shirt and a casual black jacket, and a grey beanie over short dreads. Once they were both on the Tube, Laurent Fouré headed back to Edward's apartment building.

Laurent had been scoping the place for a few weeks on and off, but had been disappointed to find that Edward Cullen lived a rather boring life, on the outside at least. He went to work sometimes, went to pick up his daughter from her dance classes or performances every night, and once in a while went to see his family in Chiswick or to the supermarket. So to see him leaving the apartment complex with a beautiful brunette who was either a little chubby or pregnant- and Laurent suspected the latter- was a curious occurrence.

There was nothing in the snippets of conversation he overheard when following them to suggest a relationship. However, Laurent had worked in private investigation for ten years, falling into it a couple of years after emigrating from Cote d'Ivoire, and had found it made him a more reliable income than stealing tourists' valuables and small time drug dealing. He now just dabbled in those when he felt like it. He knew chemistry when he saw it, and Mr Cullen and the brunette definitely had a connection.

Laurent peered into the lobby of the building that had been home to Edward and Alice Cullen for two months. He had been caught trying to sneak up to the penthouse floor and been sent packing by the senior concierge, Diego, a couple of weeks earlier, Therefore he avoided the lobby when he was on duty. However, one of the junior concierges was on duty today, a young man by the name of Austin. Laurent picked up his props, flyers for a local pizza place, and headed inside.

"'Allo young Os-teen!" Laurent greeted Austin in his thick French-African accent.

"Hi Laurent! More flyers?"

"Yes! You don't mind, do you?" Laurent slid him a £20 note and a joint. Austin pocketed them both. He didn't really care about anything but his burgeoning weed habit.

"Go for it man." Laurent quickly headed to the mailboxes and shoved some flyers randomly into a few of them. He then returned to the main desk.

"You know, ze flyers, zey are working. We had customer last night. Top floor? Man weeth teenage daughter?"

"Oh yeah, Mr Cullen. He's cool."

"Seemed to be."

"Yeah. Nice guy. He and his daughter are always well polite."

"I think there was also a woo-man weeth him. Pree-tty brunette?"

"Oh, that was probably Isabella Swan. She used to live there before Mr Cullen. She came to visit yesterday."

"Used to?"

"Yeah. She moved out a couple of months ago."

"Ah, I see. Anyway, thanks for letting me post, Os-teen. See you next time!"

"Yeah, bye man!"

Laurent walked round the corner, dumped the leftover flyers in a bin and called his colleague.

"Hi it's Laurent. Mr Hunter please...ah, James. I might have something."

-cc-

Alice was very pleased to be done with school for the day. It wasn't that she hated the place, but all she wanted in life was to have a career in ballet and saw school as something she had to endure until she could dance full time. She was hoping that Edward, who valued education greatly, would let her go to the Royal Ballet School full time when she was sixteen and had done her GCSEs, if they offered her a place. And Alice was determined to get that place.

Alice was meeting Jasper at the Starbucks near South Kensington Tube station. It was halfway home for both of them, though they were travelling in opposite directions. She hadn't seen Jasper properly in ages and she really needed to talk to him. Her heart soared when she walked in and he was waiting for her, already having ordered her a Chai Tea Latte.

"Zippy!" She ran into his arms.

"God, Bubbles. I have missed you." He hugged her tight and kissed her forehead.

"Me too!" He led her by the hand to the sofa he'd managed to commandeer, and sat down. She sat right next to him and cuddled into him.

Alice closed her eyes and relished the feel of Jasper's chest under her face, the touch of his large hand in the small of her back. Jasper looked down at Alice, his Bubbles, and felt his soul be soothed as he was surrounded by her warmth and her sweet honey-vanilla smell.

"So Bubbs, what's the hap?" He asked after a while. "How are you feeling now the performances are over?"

"Mmm... I wish I was back there. I just loved the stage, learning from the other dancers and all that, but it was so tiring, going to school all day and then performing all night. I'm exhausted!"

"I guess your aunt was right about not going shopping yesterday. How was the rest of your evening with her?"

"She was right. She's right about most things! As for the rest of the evening, well, it was great, but a bit weird at times."

"Weird? How so?"

Alice recounted the strange feeling that had come over her when she saw Aunt Bella crying in her father's arms, and again when she was watching her watch Edward play the piano, and all the other little coincidences and occurrences she'd noticed.

"I've been turning it over and over in my mind all day, Zips. I have this distinct feeling that Dad and Aunt Bella would be, like, the perfect couple. They've got so much in common and it seems that they would just fit together really well."

"Bubbles, do you think, and bear in mind, I'm just considering a different angle, sweetheart, that you want them to be together because you love them both so much and you miss having a mum around?"

Alice thought about it. _Is that what I'm doing? _A hit of sorrow stabbed her as she remembered Jessica's lack of contact.

"Perhaps... and I guess it would be really complicated, what with Aunt B expecting a baby and her being Mum's sister. Even if she did like Dad like that, she'd probably never do anything about it. But I really feel like they have a connection. And quite frankly, she'd be awesome as a mum. What do you think?"

"I don't know. If it's meant to be, like you and me..." Alice rewarded Jasper for his assertion by kissing his jaw, and his whole face tingled with pleasure. _God, I love her so much._ "...then it shouldn't matter about the baby or the fact that Bella is Jessica's sister. They should be together. And yeah, Bella's going to be a great mum, and she'd be a great stepmum. But nothing can happen until after the divorce, even they do want to be together."

"No? Why not?"

"The pre-nup remember? If your dad's found with another woman before the divorce goes through, your mother gets half of everything."

"Oh yeah." In her excitement Alice had forgotten about the pre-nup. "Maybe I should keep these thoughts on the backburner for a while, until the divorce happens and the baby comes."

"That's good thinking, Bubbles."

-cc-

_To: Jessica Jane Cullen_

_From: James Hunter _

_Subject: A development_

_Jessica, _

_How are you, sexy? _

_We may be onto something with Edward. He was seen leaving his apartment today with an attractive brunette, who appeared to have stayed the night. Please call me for more information and to let me know how you want to proceed. _

_Hope you're enjoying yourself in California. Can't wait to see that tan!_

_James_

Jessica read the email three times before squealing to herself in delight. An attractive brunette, James had said. _Perhaps five million quid is on the cards after all! _She checked the time. It was 8.30 in Carmel, so it was 4.30pm in London. She quickly picked up the phone and called James' mobile.

"Hello, James? It's Jessica Cullen."

"_Ah, hi there, sexy! How's California?"_

"Great! Sun all day, beautiful people, staff to wait on me. What's not to like?"

"_Good. Good. I guess you're phoning because of my email?"_

"Yes! Tell me more about this brunette!"

James repeated Laurent's observations.

"_...so he made some enquiries and we have her name. We'll also look up the local records for more information and step up our surveillance of Edward."_

"What's her name?"

"_Oh..."_ James shuffled the papers on his messy desk to look for the note with the information from Laurent on it. _Damn, shouldn't have had that line of snow. I'm all over the place now._ He found it after a few seconds. "..._it's err...Swan. Isabella Swan."_

"What? James, you complete fuckwit! Bella's my sister. She was probably just visiting."

Jessica was fuming. It had been weeks since the divorce negotiations and she had been relying on James to dig some dirt on Edward. If all he could come up with was her Goody-Two-Shoes sister visiting Alice, she would need her own back-up plan.

"_Well, could she not be having...?"_

"Doubtful. Bella's like a nun! I wouldn't be surprised if she's a virgin at the age of nearly 30! She's so fucking holier than thou!" Jessica bitched, thinking of the way Bella yelled and chewed her out a couple of weeks earlier. She hated that Bella had called her out on her bullshit.

"_So, you don't think there's any possibility Edward and your sister could be involved?"_

"Seriously James, I think you're barking up the wrong tree. She and Edward could barely tolerate each other. If she's in London, then it will be for business and to see Alice. She'd have put up with Edward's company for Alice's sake, that's it."

"But they're living in her old apartment. Doesn't that mean something?"

"James, Edward's a creature of habit. He likes routine and he likes familiar. If a lettings agent offered him a place he recognised, like my sister's old place, he'd have taken it."

"_If you're sure..."_

"I'm sure, James. If Edward is seeing someone, and to be honest, I doubt that he is, it's not my sister." Jessica replied confidently. It had taken months for him to ask her out because he was so shy around women. He'd been so nervous about sex and losing his virginity that they didn't sleep together until they'd been a couple for a year and even then it had been at Jessica's instigation.

"_OK then. We'll keep up the surveillance for a while longer just in case."_

"You do that." Jessica told him before putting the phone down. _Fucking useless piece of shit lawyer. _

Jessica needed a new game plan. It was looking increasingly likely that she wasn't getting any more than £50K from Edward, and that was in no way going to be enough. Sure, Mike earned more than Edward did when he was at the agency and that was enough to support her, but Mike didn't have £10 million in the bank. The reason Edward could afford to buy the house in Hampstead was because of his trust fund. Mike didn't have anything like that kind of money to buy decent property, which was why he lived in a smaller apartment in Greenwich.

Having spent a couple of weeks in California, Jessica was starting to forget what was so great about London. Sure, it was far quieter, but it was just as glamorous, in its own way. It was warm all the time, and sunny. She would love a house with a swimming pool, and a Californian millionaire to pick up her bills. She thought that she loved Mike once, but now that she was faced with the reality of a life with him, she wasn't so sure.

_Hmm... where am I going to get a Californian millionaire? _

-cc-

During his dealings with Jessica Cullen, James Hunter had come to the realisation that his client's instincts were not to be trusted. She had been so sure that there was no way Edward could have found out about her affair with Mike, but of course, he had found out, and her daughter had known for years. She hadn't thought it relevant to tell him that she'd signed the pre-nuptial agreement again, thus making it a legal and binding postnuptial agreement. She had been confident that Alice was being kept away from her by Edward, when the reality was that it was Alice's choice to stay away.

Therefore, James was listening to his own instincts, the instincts which told him that Edward Cullen was harbouring a deep, dark secret. After talking to Laurent, who was convinced that there was more than just a platonic relationship between Edward and Isabella Swan, he wondered if the deep dark secret was that Edward was the father of Isabella's baby.

James had absolutely no evidence, but he was determined to find some. It had been three weeks since the divorce negotiations. The paperwork had gone through to the court and the date for the decree nisi was in only three weeks. After this, Edward could apply for the final dissolution of the marriage, the decree absolute, just six weeks later. If the court was efficient, the divorce could be official within two weeks. All in all, it meant that James had around eleven weeks to prove that Edward Cullen had had an extramarital affair himself, and that his client was entitled to half his assets, so that James would get his 20% fee, which would amount to a million pounds.

James needed that money. His law firm, Hunter and Evenson, was struggling. Charles Evenson was in poor health thanks to his heavy drinking, and wasn't bringing in many cases. James had his own problems. He himself had a good-going cocaine habit, and he had no intention of stopping. Cocaine made him feel invincible, but it was an expensive pastime. Then there was Victoria, his girlfriend, another lawyer at the firm. She was a complete hellcat. She was in her late thirties, tall with long, lean legs, massive tits and a mane of wild red curls. She also happened to be Charles Evenson's wife. James needed cash to buy Charles out of the firm and poach Victoria, who'd never leave Charles otherwise.

Speaking of Victoria, she just happened to stride into James's office as he was pondering his next move with regards to Edward Cullen.

"Oh, you look stressed, Honey." She walked over and straddled him in his office chair.

"It's this fucking Cullen case." James explained the revelations from Laurent's surveillance and their suspicions about Edward's relationship with Jessica's sister.

"Interesting. They're probably trying to be really careful. I'll bet that nobody knows apart from Edward Cullen and his lawyer."

"Who's his aunt. I'd love to get someone into her office, do some spying and maybe plant some bugs, but Cullen and Associates might as well be Fort Knox. Esme Cullen triple vets all her staff and has them sign confidentiality agreements. Plus they're all so loyal that they'd never agree to a kickback or bribe."

"Aha, but sometimes, extreme circumstances mean that the usual checks go by the wayside." Victoria replied, a glint in her eye.

"What are you getting at, Vix?"

"What if Esme Cullen suddenly found herself without key members of her admin staff? She'd have to hire some temporary staff quickly, forgoing the usual checks..."

"But how would we get rid of them, and who would we send in their place?"

"A well-timed accident perhaps...I don't know. We can brainstorm that later. As for who...?"

"We need someone who'd do what they were instructed to do, disappear and leave Esme Cullen none the wiser."

"You have a point. What about Bree or Riley?" Victoria replied. Bree, the dowdy office junior, happened to have a massive crush on James, not that she was aware that everyone knew about it, whilst geeky IT guy Riley followed Victoria around like a little puppy. They would be easy to manipulate.

"Perfect."

-cc-


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Hello! Thank you all so much for your reviews! A few of you were waiting for James to rear his ugly head!**

**Just to clarify, James only has Laurent's suspicions that Bella is pregnant to go on. He does not know for sure. But he is desperate and so he's running with his ideas. Unfortunately he's right, and determined to get the proof he needs to get his commission.**

**Right, on with the story! **

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 12**

Bella returned to Manchester feeling wonderful. Although things were still up in the air, she could see a future with Edward, Alice and Little One. Some guilt would always remain about falling in love and sleeping with her sister's soon-to-be-ex husband, but she had let go of most of it. She and Edward had a plan, and Bella always felt better when there was a plan.

Sue picked Bella up from the train station to take her to her antenatal class, and immediately noticed the difference in her stepdaughter.

"Wow, you look radiant! I'm guessing you had a great time in the Big Smoke!"

"Yes it was fab! Alice danced like an absolute angel! The show was great! It was brilliant to spend the day with her yesterday. Oh, and Little One kicked me properly for the first time!"

"Wow, I don't think I've seen you this happy in ages! You are absolutely glowing." Sue remarked. "Is there any other reason why you look like the cat that got the cream?"

"I worked things out with Little One's dad. We're going to stay as we are for now, but when things have settled, we're going to be together."

"That's wonderful, Baby Girl!" Sue leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I can't get over how happy you look."

"It's so strange. I just seem to experience everything in extremis. I cry at everything. When I'm sad, I'm sobbing. When I'm angry, I'm burning with rage, and when I'm happy..." Bella giggled. "...I'm ecstatic."

"I was the same when I was pregnant with Leah, although less so with Seth." Sue told her. "I'm so glad you're so cheery, Baby Girl. I've been worried about you, coping with the move back here and going through the pregnancy alone. I had this fear that you'd get really blue and be missing California."

"I might not have a husband, but I'm not alone anymore." Bella replied, beaming at Sue. "Moving back to Britain was the best decision I could have made. I loved my time in California but my heart's here."

"Good."

When Bella got home after the antenatal class, she made herself a vegetable omelette for dinner- she couldn't get enough of eggs these days- before checking her emails. She'd not bothered all weekend. It was quite liberating.

_To: Isabella Swan_

_From: Amun Andrews_

_Subject: An offer._

_Dear Isabella_

_I am sending this to the email address listed as your personal one on your file, and I pray it reaches you. I tried calling your home phone and your cell, but both have been disconnected. Have you moved out of area? _

_The reason I am writing is to ask if you would reconsider your decision to resign. We were perhaps too hasty in dismissing your request to reduce your working hours after the birth of your child. We would like to offer you a new contract, which would be for a promotion to Chief Financial Analyst, a golden welcome of $10,000 and a raise of $15,000 per annum. Needless to say, your request to work a maximum of 60% of a full working week is granted. _

_Please consider this offer. We are missing your expertise. This request has come direct from the Chief Financial Officer, Marcus Volturi._

_Yours sincerely_

_Amun Andrews_

_VP for Human Resources_

_Volturi Industries._

Bella was unsurprised. She didn't boast about it but she knew how much of an asset to the company she was. However, she was not at all tempted by the offer. She had made up her mind. She was home to stay.

_To: Amun Andrews_

_From: Isabella Swan_

_Subject: Re: An offer._

_Dear Mr Andrews_

_Thanks, but no thanks. _

_I've moved back home to Britain and I'm not returning._

_Yours sincerely_

_Bella Swan_

It was one of the most satisfying emails she'd ever written.

-cc-

Edward returned to the apartment building in Shad Thames just after seven pm that evening. Thanks to his mind being on Bella, he had been next to useless at work. He was sure that his managers Josh and Sarah, as much as they liked him, wished he wasn't there, getting in the way. In the end he holed up in the office and went over the books, before checking on the progress of their online enquiries and sales.

Edward ambled into the lobby to see Diego and Austin, the two concierges at the desk.

"Good evening." Edward greeted them as he went to the mailbox.

There was nothing for him, just a catalogue from a ballet and dancewear supplier, in his name but actually for Alice. The only other content was a couple of flyers for a pizza place. Edward put them in the recycling bin before moving upstairs. Austin joined him in the lift, carrying a couple of parcels.

"Did you enjoy your pizza yesterday, Mr Cullen?" Austin asked politely.

"Err...yes, it was great, thanks." Edward replied, confused as to how Austin the concierge knew they'd had pizza the day before.

"Cool. I'll have to try that place sometime."

"Sorry?"

"The pizza place, where you got the pizza from?"

"Austin, my daughter and her aunt made homemade pizza yesterday. We didn't order it. I haven't ordered pizza to the apartment since we moved in." Edward clarified. "What made you think we had?"

Austin was silent for a moment.

"The guy from the pizza place said he'd delivered to you last night. He asked about you, your daughter and Miss Swan." Austin eventually explained.

The lift pinged on the twelfth floor, two floors below Edward's apartment.

"I need to..." Austin motioned that he needed to exit the apartment, suddenly getting an uneasy feeling.

"And I need you to tell me everything about this guy." Edward countered, his voice slightly menacing as he felt his temper and anxiety start to rise.

He let Austin exit the lift and followed him to the apartment where Austin had to deliver the parcels. Once he was done, they went back down to the lobby where Austin, in front of Diego, told Edward everything he knew about Laurent and the content of their conversations. Afterwards Diego pulled the CCTV footage, confirmed it was the same guy who'd tried to sneak up to the penthouse a couple of weeks earlier, and provided Edward with a picture.

"Would you like me to call the police, Mr Cullen?"

"Yes. I'm not sure whether he's done anything illegal but he has been intrusive, and it would be good to run it past them. Oh, and please tighten up your security procedures as a matter of urgency."

With a glare at Austin, Edward turned on his heel and headed back up to the penthouse, where he immediately picked up the phone.

"Aunt Esme, I think we have a problem."

-cc-

Esme was making spaghetti and meatballs for dinner when her phone rang. It was her nephew.

"Hi Edward, everything OK?"

_"Aunt Esme, I think we have a problem." _Edward's voice was shaky and stressed.

Esme put down the wooden spoon and turned off the stove.

"What's going on?"

Edward hurriedly explained the events of the previous two days, from Bella's appearance at the ballet on Saturday night to the guy fishing for information at the apartment building. When he was done, Esme sighed.

"Edward, this was exactly what I was afraid of."

_"I know. But you have to understand that Alice organised things with Bella and..."_

"I realise that, but now we have to deal with the fallout." She replied as Jasper walked in through the back door. Esme glanced at the clock, which read 7.20pm, and then raised an eyebrow at her youngest son. He shrugged, sat at the breakfast bar, picked up an apple from the fruit bowl on the counter and pulled out his Kindle to finish reading North and South.

"Look, if this guy's sniffing around the apartment, it's not going to take much for him to start hanging around the shop or Alice's school." Jasper dropped the apple he was about to bite into and looked up from his Kindle. "We need to talk face to face, first thing tomorrow. I'll call my security guy and have him meet us at your apartment at 9am sharp."

"OK. See you soon, Aunt Esme."

"Bye Edward."

Esme ended the call and rubbed her temples.

"Mum, what's going on? What was that all about?" Jasper asked, trying not to panic too much. "Are Edward and Alice all right?"

"They're fine, sonny. It's to do with the divorce, and you know I can't tell you any more than that."

"But Mum..."

"Jasper, Edward and Alice may be family and I know you're close to them, but right now they're my clients, and you know about client-lawyer confidentiality."

"I guess..." Jasper knew not to enquire any further. "I'll go change for dinner. Sorry for being late by the way, I should have called to let you know. I went to Starbucks after school with some friends and then there was a delay on the District Line on the way home."

Esme ruffled his blond mop and kissed him on the cheek.

"No harm done, but promise me you'll do it in the future."

"Of course Mum."

Jasper headed upstairs, changed out of his school uniform and texted Alice.

_Bubbles, heads up- some security problem's gone down at your place, to do with divorce. Mum & Edward meeting tomorrow. Be careful! Love you xxx_

Alice was not in a good mood when she received the message, just before walking into the penthouse. After leaving Jasper at South Kensington station very reluctantly, she'd got delayed on the Underground because of signal failure on the District Line and then got caught in a downpour walking back to the apartment with no umbrella.

"Alice! Where have you been?" Edward cried, still panicky from finding out about the man asking questions about his family. He rushed to hug her.

"Dad, I'm so sorry! I got stuck on the Tube and then when I started walking back, it started pissing it down!" She exclaimed. "I'm sorry, but I'm not that late!"

"I know, princess. It's just...something happened today." His eyes were wide. _Man, he's really freaked out._

"I..." Alice was about to say she knew, but didn't want to give away how she knew. "...I, uh, really need the loo." She crossed her legs and faked a pee-pee dance. "Please can I...?"

"OK. Change and hurry back."

Alice ran to her bathroom, went to the loo even though she didn't actually need to go, and changed out of her wet school uniform into a pair of leggings and a large off-the-shoulder grey sweatshirt with a sparkly picture of a lion on it. Before she went back to Edward, she texted Jasper back.

_Back home. Still haven't got the 411 but he's really creeped out. Will let you know what goes down. Love you xxx_

Alice found Edward in the kitchen serving up the leftover chicken and rice that Bella prepared for their dinner the night before.

"Better, princess?"

"Yeah. So what happened?"

Edward handed her a plate and some cutlery before sitting down with his own, next to her.

"There's been a man asking some questions about us and trying to get up to the apartment."

"What guy?" Edward leaned over and showed her the grainy picture of the African man with dreads.

"Oh my God, I've seen this guy before!" Alice exclaimed. "I've seen him in the lobby once and smoking in the pub garden next door!"

"Has he ever approached you, said anything?"

"No, not at all. I don't even know why I remember him, other than he was a bit creepy." Alice replied. "I don't understand. What's so interesting about us?"

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that it might have something to do with the divorce. He's been hanging around for around three weeks, which is about how long it's been since the divorce negotiations, but he only started asking questions today, and he was specifically asking questions about your Aunt Bella. He may have jumped to the wrong conclusion."

"How would he have known she was anything to do with us?"

"Ah, well, we left together today. After you left she went back to bed for a little while and when she was ready I walked with her to London Bridge. Apparently he saw us and from the external CCTV, it looks like he might have followed us." Edward explained, carefully choosing his words to hide the fact that it was his bed Bella had slept in. "He returned here and managed to get some information out of the junior concierge."

"That doesn't surprise me. That Austin guy is such a stoner." Alice huffed. "Have you told Aunt B?"

"Err, no."

"Dad, we have to tell her! That guy could hurt her and the baby!"

"I'm meeting Aunt Esme first thing tomorrow. I'll be sure to bring it up. I don't want to act rashly and do something to make the situation worse." Edward replied, scared shitless with the same fear as Alice had.

"All right Dad." Alice replied, although she was intending to text Bella regardless.

"Alice, I mean it." Edward said firmly, catching the flicker of dissent in his daughter's eyes. "Please don't call Aunt Bella yet. I don't want to upset her unnecessarily."

"But what if he followed her to Manchester..."

"He didn't. The CCTV puts him in our lobby less than twenty minutes after we left. So please do as I say, princess, and leave it with me."

"Fine." Alice replied, with a little petulance in her voice. _I hope Dad's right._

-cc-

The next morning, at 9am on the dot, Esme arrived with her security and surveillance expert, Jason Jenks. He was in his 50s, ex-military and a trained lawyer but made more money working as a security consultant. Esme had told him as much as she knew and once Edward had shown him the pictures from the CCTV, he finally delivered an opinion.

"This guy is Laurent Fouré. He's from French-speaking West Africa, a former soldier and experienced PI. I've come across him a couple of times, before I started working with Cullen and Associates. He was a petty criminal before moving into private investigative work, and last I heard, he was working for a firm somewhere in the 'burbs."

"Do you remember the name of the firm?"

"It's called Hunter and Evenson, I think. It's not really a comparable firm to your practice Mrs C. I doubt you've heard of it."

"Sadly, I have. That's the firm representing Jessica, Edward's ex-wife."

"That's not good. Hunter and Evenson do any shitty personal injury and civil dispute stuff they can get their hands on. But they have a great settlement rate because they really do their homework. At least, they used to."

"Used to?"

"Word on the grapevine is that Hunter and Evenson are struggling. Charles Evenson's a boozer and hasn't been pulling in cases. James Hunter wants to buy him out but hasn't got any capital."

"James seemed like a shark in the boardroom." Esme replied. "He's probably desperate for the fee from Jessica's payout."

"He always takes 20%. If Jessica got five million pounds, he would get a cool million, which would be enough to by Evenson out." Jenks said. "What I've heard is that James Hunter is utterly ruthless and like a dog with a bone. He won't rest until he's got the result he wants, by any means necessary."

"Great." Edward replied worriedly. "He knows where I live. He probably knows all our movements and he knows about Bella."

"Edward, all he knows is that Bella was here. Once he does some digging, he'll find out that she's Alice's aunt. There's nothing to suggest any other relationship." Esme tried to soothe her nephew.

"Jenks just said that Hunter won't rest until he gets the result he wants. You don't think that includes hounding Bella, making allegations, doing anything he can to delay the divorce?"

"I have to agree with Edward. James Hunter would do all those things."

"OK, well, we should warn Bella, investigate Fouré and prove links between him and Hunter. We might be able to bring a criminal case against them for illegal surveillance."

"Why doesn't he have the capital?" Edward asked, suddenly registering Jenks' comment about James's finances.

"Sorry?"

"Hunter's been a partner in that firm for a while. I overheard him telling Tia McKenzie at the divorce negotiations that he'd been there for years. So if he's been there for years, and has been having a good success rate until recently, why hasn't he got enough cash to buy out Charles Evenson? Where's his money gone?" Edward asked.

"That's an interesting question. I'll look into it." Jenks promised.

"Thank you Jason." Esme replied. "Now what do we have to do to improve security?"

"Firstly, we need to keep your routines as normal as possible. Don't raise suspicion by suddenly changing your normal activities. That being said, we need to secure your phones, email accounts and workplaces. Esme, that has to include your office. Look out for anything not quite right, that might change your routine. They may seem minor but they might be significant."

"What about communication with Bella?" Esme asked.

"Bella and I already agreed yesterday that we would only communicate through you, but I can't restrict Alice's contact with her. Alice is functioning only because Bella's been providing her with the maternal support she's craving."

"What contact is Alice having?"

"She and Bella text or email each other almost daily. And Alice is supposed to be visiting her in Manchester in a few weekends' time."

"Well, there's no reason that the visit can't go ahead, although you shouldn't go with her."

"I was planning on putting Alice on the train on Friday evening, and picking her up Sunday afternoon. I wasn't intending to go."

"I wouldn't let her go on her own." Jenks stated. "I don't think Hunter and Fouré would do anything but you should be careful."

"I'll go up with her. I'll take Jasper as well, and Carlisle if he's not working. A client gave me tickets to tour the Manchester United football ground. They'd love that. It'll give me a chance to catch up with Bella too."

"That's a good idea." Edward agreed.

"Seems like we have a plan, folks."

-cc-

Bella looked over her morning's work. She was in the back kitchen at the city centre branch of Clear Swan Deli-Cafe, making red velvet cupcakes, a recipe she'd picked up from her old Berkeley neighbour, Cora. Bella had made a small batch for her family and they had gone down so well that Sue begged her to make some for the cafe, telling her that they would fly off the counter. Red velvet cake wasn't as common a cake flavour in England, so Bella was sceptical that people would buy them, but she agreed.

Sue was right. On her first round of baking for the cafe, Bella had made a batch of twenty-four cupcakes, each with cream cheese frosting and decorated with red sprinkles. Sue put them out at 11am, and they sold out within two hours. For the rest of the day, people came back in, asking when they would be available again. That had been two days ago. Bella had made them again the next day, and they sold out even faster. Today she had made triple, for it was Saturday, and Sue was expecting a rush of Saturday shoppers, tourists and football supporters, for both the local teams, Manchester United and Manchester City, were playing games in their home stadia.

Bella was glad to be out of the house. Having worked eighty-hour weeks for the best part of seven years, she wasn't used to being idle, and planning for Little One only took up so much time. Being busy also kept her mind off Edward and the security concerns that Esme had discussed with her on the phone. She hated to be the cause of so much trouble. Her mind drifted to the conversation that she'd had with Esme a few days earlier, the day after returning from London.

**Flashback- three days earlier:**

_"Hello, is that Bella?"_

"Yes? Is that Esme?"

_"It is, dear. How are you?"_

"I'm well thank you. Just doing a bit of baking." Bella had replied. "Is everything OK?"

_"Well yes and no..."_

"Alice and Edward..."

_"...are fine. The thing is, Bella, we have reason to believe that you and Edward were followed when you left the apartment yesterday."_

"Followed?" Bella's hands automatically went to her tummy.

_"Yes. We believe the man is an associate of Jessica's lawyer, who is trying to demonstrate that Edward has broken a term of the postnuptial agreement."_

"What implications would that have?"

Esme had sighed. She didn't really want Bella to know the ins and outs of the agreement, but realised that it was unavoidable.

_"I'm trusting you to keep this information confidential, Bella. It's of the utmost importance."_

"Of course, Esme. Edward, Alice and my baby are the most important things in the world to me these days."

_"Well, the postnuptial agreement states that if Jessica's infidelity is the reason for the divorce, she is not entitled to any of Edward's assets, only half of their shared assets, which isn't very much, and which she already has. However, if Edward is found to be unfaithful, Jessica is entitled to half of everything, regardless of her own unfaithfulness. That's a lot of money. Edward would have to give her half of everything he's inherited from his parents."_

"I see. And I don't doubt that Jessica and her lawyer are trying to suck whatever they can from him." Bella had replied, unable to keep an acerbic tone from her voice.

_"Yes, and Jessica has hired a very ruthless representative. He's probably more desperate than she is."_

"So do they suspect anything?"

_"Possibly. The thing is, dear, it was obvious to me at Christmas that there was a mutual affection between you and Edward, although I didn't know then that you'd acted upon it. Therefore it's probably obvious to an experienced PI as well."_

"I see. You think that they'll try to follow me?"

_"Yes. They will be delayed by the fact that you've only just moved back to England and are in the process of changing addresses etc but it's only a matter of time."_

"Is this conversation safe?"

_"Yes. My security guy has encrypted the phone lines in my office, my house and Edward's apartment, and as your phone has a pay-as-you-go SIM card that's not been registered, it's currently untraceable."_

"So I'm best off not registering it?"

_"Yes, if that's OK, although I know it makes things inconvenient for top-up payments."_

"I can put up with it until the divorce goes through."

_"Thank you dear. Now, is your email encrypted? If it is I'll send you pictures and information about Jessica's lawyer and his associates."_

"Yes. I'm really careful about that sort of thing."

_"Good. I'll email it to you today."_

"Thank you Esme."

_"You're welcome, Bella, dear. I'm just sorry this has to involve you and Little One."_

"Me too." Bella had replied. "Is Alice still going to be able to visit me soon?"

_"Yes, although Jasper, Carlisle and I are coming too. I'm looking into hotels near your place."_

"A hotel? Esme, you're family. You're more than welcome to stay with me. I have two spare rooms. Unless you'd prefer a hotel, although I'd love to have you to stay."

_"That's very kind, Bella. Staying with you would certainly mean that we could spend more time with you and keep a closer eye on Alice. Are you sure you don't mind?"_

"Of course not. It would be a delight."

_"Brilliant. I'm afraid I have to go Bella, dear. But I'll be in touch soon"._

"OK. Take care."

_"You too. Look after your precious cargo!"_

"I will. Bye!"

_"Bye!"_

**End flashback.**

"Bella?" Bella looked up to see Sue, who had just walked in to bring her a mug of tea.

"Hey, sorry, lost in thought. Everything all right?"

"Yes. We've only been open fifteen minutes and there's someone asking for one of the cupcakes! Are they ready?"

"Sure. They just need to go onto a display plate." Bella picked up one of the plates and started loading it with cupcakes.

"Thanks Baby Girl. I really appreciate you getting up at the ass-crack of dawn to make these."

"It's a pleasure. I'm used to getting up early."

"I know you're not too concerned about working at the moment but if you want, you could pick up a few shifts here and there, and I'd pay you."

"Don't be silly, Mama Sue. You don't have to pay me. I'm happy to help out, just to have something to do."

"Bella, you're a natural when it comes to food, and you have great business instincts. I'd love to have you on board and I have to pay you. Non-negotiable. Plus Seth's got finals coming up. Tomorrow's shift is the last he's working for a month. You could work whenever you wanted, and teach us how to make these and a few other cupcake recipes so that we could bake them when you're not here."

Bella thought about it for a moment. She had enjoyed baking in Clear Swan's commercial kitchen and she liked seeing people's faces when they took a bite of her cupcakes or any of the delicious food Clear Swan made. It wouldn't hurt to have a little extra money for Little One, and she would be earning it doing something she loved.

"All right, Mama Sue. I'll take over Seth's shifts for the next month and see how things go."

"Wonderful news Baby Girl!" Sue kissed Bella on the cheek before heading back to the service counter with the plate of cupcakes.

-cc-

Lucy Sanders was enjoying her Saturday morning. It was a sunny day, something of a rarity in London, and she was cycling in Tooting Bec Common, not far from her home in the South London suburb of Streatham. She was twenty-five and had worked for Cullen and Associates for nearly four years, starting in the typing pool and working her way up until she had got the coveted post of personal assistant to the boss, Esme Cullen, three months earlier, in mid-February. She was a quiet girl, very conscientious, and very good at her job.

Lucy was meandering along a path that ran through the centre of the Common and was just passing a large tree when, out of nowhere, she collided with another cyclist. She got tangled up in her bike frame, her right ankle and arm painfully twisting under her.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry!" The other cyclist had fallen onto the grass; there wasn't a scratch on her. "Are you OK?" She asked, offering her a hand to stand up.

"Um, let me try to...oww! OWW!" Lucy couldn't hold anything in her right hand and couldn't put any weight on her ankle. She looked down to her collarbone. It was sticking out a little. _That's not good._

"Oh no. Let me phone for an ambulance. I think you've broken something."

"OK." The woman phoned 999 and explained what had happened.

"They're going to be around 10 minutes. Do you want to try to sit on that bench?" Lucy shook her head. She was starting to feel dizzy from the pain. "Is there anyone you'd like me to call?"

"Um, please could you pass me my phone?" Lucy pointed at her retro brown leather satchel, strapped to the back of the bike. With her left hand, she dialled her housemates and the house phone. There was no answer. All her other friends lived on the other side of London, or commuted in from surrounding towns. "Guess I'm going to the hospital by myself." She mumbled.

"I really am very sorry. It's just that you seemed to come from nowhere."

"It's not your fault. Just one of those things." Lucy replied.

"Well, I'll stay with you until the ambulance comes."

"Thanks, that's nice of you." Lucy turned and smiled appreciatively at the woman, getting a good look at her for the first time. She was in her thirties and very tall, and Lucy's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to her bust, which was very large, given her thin, slender frame. She had small blue eyes and a straight nose, and when she smiled, displayed a perfect set of sparkling white teeth. She was clearly someone who'd had some cosmetic surgery done. Lucy wondered if the woman's wild, curly hair, which was a brilliant, bright red, was dyed.

"I'm Victoria, by the way."

"Lucy."

-cc-

**For those of you that caught it, sorry for the minor edit-fail when I first posted this! **

**Same time next week, or possibly Sunday, if my weekend plans go to pot!**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Hi everyone! Thank you all for your reviews! Lots of you worrying about Victoria, a lot of you hopeful that Esme, Edward and Jenks are a step ahead. **

**I've finished writing the whole story now- I just had to get it all out of my head! It's going to be nineteen chapters, a two-part epilogue and a future-take. The later chapters still need editing, but I think that I'll have the whole story posted within three weeks. To that end, I'm posting two chapters today.**

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 13**

James Hunter was seriously pissed off. It had been nearly three weeks since Laurent informed him about Isabella Swan and his suspicions of a relationship between her and Edward Cullen. Just days later, Laurent's mother had a heart attack back home in Cote d'Ivoire and he had returned to Abidjan to see her, not caring about James, his protests or threats, with no plans to return anytime soon. James, for all the yelling at Laurent, would never stop his retention fee because of the dirt Laurent had on him, not to mention the fact that Laurent was James's main source of cocaine. James, thanks to a little bribery at a temping agency, had managed to get Bree into Cullen and Associates. However, that hadn't produced any results either.

James, therefore, was no closer to finding any evidence of a sexual relationship between Edward Cullen and Bella, his sister-in-law. The decree nisi had just been granted and he had not been able to get hold of Jessica since their conversation about Bella. He had emailed and phoned but had no success. Eventually he called her mother's house in California, but the surly housekeeper had mumbled something in Spanish before putting the phone down.

There was a knock on the door. Bree entered. She had told her supervisor at Cullen and Associates that she had a doctor's appointment so that she could sneak across town to see James.

"Hello Mr Hunter." Bree said shyly, looking at the floor.

"Bree. Take a seat." She shuffled into a seat opposite his desk. "I have to say that I'm disappointed. You've been at Cullen and Associates for two weeks and I've seen no results. None at all."

"I'm sorry sir! They have this electronic filing system that makes it near-impossible to find any documents, and because I'm on main reception instead of in Mrs Cullen's office I don't get to hear anything interesting! And Riley tried to tap into the phones and the computers but they're too heavily encrypted."

"All I'm hearing is excuses, Bree. Don't tell me problems. Tell me solutions." James replied menacingly. Bree shrank back in her chair.

"Um, well, Mrs Cullen took the afternoon off today so the ladies filling in for Lucy will be going home early. I might be able to sneak Riley in so he can put a recorder into Mrs Cullen's office answering machine, and once I've learnt the filing system and the security protocols I'll have better access to files." Bree spoke in a rush, keen to please him.

"Good girl. I'm sorry if I came across harshly, but this is a very big deal. If you do well, I promise to reward you."

"R-reward me?" Bree stammered. Mr Hunter was very sexy, but dangerous. He scared her and excited her all at the same time.

James saw the spark of fear and arousal in her eyes. He stood up, came round the desk and rested against it in front of her before leaning forward.

"Yes." He ran the back of her hand against her cheek and stroked her dark hair. "I'll reward you very well. I promise."

Bree melted with desire and adoration.

"Of course, sir."

"Excellent. Off you go now."

Bree did as she was told and departed. Feeling slightly better, James sat back down in his chair and pulled out a small vial of white powder from his desk drawer.

_Time for my reward._

-cc-

The weekend of the Cullens' visit to Manchester arrived. Edward dropped Alice, Esme, Carlisle and Jasper at London Euston station. It had been three weeks since Bella's visit and sleepover at Alice and Edward's apartment, and that morning, the decree nisi for Edward and Jessica's divorce had been granted. Edward had been delighted, although his joy was tempered by the fact that he was going to be alone for the weekend whilst his family went to Manchester.

"Bye Dad! Do something fun this weekend!" Alice told Edward as she hugged him goodbye. Edward had to blink back a tear. He hadn't spent more than a day apart from her for months, and ever since he left Jessica, he had been particularly anxious about being away from his beloved daughter.

"I'm sure I'll think of something." Edward replied, although he had no intention of doing anything other than working in the shop, going to the gym and playing the piano. He turned to Esme and Carlisle. "Look after my princess please."

"Of course, Edward. Please don't worry." Esme hugged him too.

Their goodbye was interrupted by the loud blast of a car horn as a line of cars started to form behind them, waiting to get into the drop off area that Edward's Volvo XC90 was currently blocking.

"Well, OK. Time to go." Edward glanced over at Alice who was bouncing on her heels with excitement. His heart panged as she blew him a kiss. He caught it, pressed it to his heart and waved goodbye before getting into the Volvo and driving away.

As it was Friday afternoon, the train was quite busy with people escaping London for the weekend, but First Class, where Esme had reserved four seats for them around a table, was fairly quiet. She was thankful as it had been a stressful few weeks and she had a headache.

Esme's assistant Lucy had been knocked off her bike a fortnight earlier and was off work for six weeks so her broken ankle and collarbone could heal. The temp, Bree, had been able to answer the phone competently, but had been floored when faced with Cullen and Associates' sophisticated electronic filing and document database system. Frustrated almost to the point of tears, Esme rang Lucy to ask her to talk Bree through the system over the phone. However Lucy, who was smart and efficient, came up with an alternative, which had saved Esme's sanity.

"_Have Rachel from the reception team move into my office to cover your phone calls. She knows the filing system really well, as does Shelly in the typing pool. She can move in to do your letters and admin. They're both very competent, know the ropes and have covered for me on days off before. You can put Bree in reception, which is a much simpler role. The rest of the typing pool can split Shelly's work between them."_

What had surprised Esme was that Bree started crying when she was told she was moving to reception.

"P-p-please Mrs Cullen. I'll do better!" Bree had begged. She hadn't put up any more resistance though, and moved to reception that afternoon. However, she looked at Esme forlornly whenever she saw her.

_That really was strange. I gave her an easier job for the same money and she wasn't happy._

Esme then remembered something Jenks had said three weeks earlier, after the security breach at Edward's apartment.

"_...Look out for anything not quite right, that might change your routine. They may seem minor but they might be significant..."_

Could Bree be working for Hunter and Evenson? Could she be a mole? _Bree, that mousy little thing?_

"Are you all right, darling?" Carlisle murmured.

"Just a bit of a headache. Hard week." She replied, quickly texting Jenks to ask him to check out Bree's background. Carlisle leaned in, kissed her temple and entwined his hand with hers. Esme smiled at him. "Better already."

Jasper was never one to waste an opportunity. Sensing his mother's need for peace and quiet and spotting some empty seats at the other end of the carriage, he decided to make the most of it.

"Mum, I was going to play Alice some tracks from the Public Enemy album I downloaded. Seeing as you've got a bit of headache, we're going to move down the other end of the carriage. Give you some peace."

"That's so thoughtful, sonny. Stay in this carriage though and keep your tickets with you."

"Sure Mum."

Once he and Alice had moved to the other end of the carriage, and he was sure that Carlisle and Esme could not see them, Jasper clasped her hand tightly.

"You OK, Bubbles?" He asked in a quiet voice, kissing her temple just like Carlisle had kissed Esme's a minute earlier.

"Yes. Good thinking with the seat move by the way." Alice said, just as quietly. Both were used to having conversations with each other _pianissimo. _

"Thanks."

"Is your mum OK, Zips? She looks exhausted."

"She's just had a really hard couple of weeks. She'll be fine once we get to Manchester and chills out a bit."

"Well, Aunt Bella will help. She's really looking forward to having us over."

"It was really nice of her to put us all up, but it's a shame your dad couldn't come."

"Yeah, it would have been cool, but he has to be in the shop this weekend. Plus he doesn't want to draw Mum's lawyer's attention to Aunt B. He's really annoyed that she's already on the dickhead's radar."

"I'm just pissed off that you might be at risk. And the last thing we want is for him to find out about..." He lifted their joined hands a couple of inches. "...we can tell them ourselves."

"Yeah. We need to be careful."

"I know. We're going to have to limit our after-school meetings and PDAs, Bubbles."

Alice nodded sadly. Jasper tilted her chin up and gave her a brief Eskimo kiss. As he moved his face away, however, their eyes met and both felt their breaths catch in their throats as they felt themselves drawn towards each others' lips.

The loud rattle of the service trolley entering the carriage broke them apart.

"As much as I hate to admit it, Zippy, you're right. The more time we spend together alone, the harder it is to hide how much we mean to each other." Alice gripped his hand even tighter.

"Bubbles, you are it for me." Jasper told her. He'd heard the phrase on TV and in sappy movies, but it was a perfect description of how much Alice meant to him. "We just have to be careful until you're eighteen, and then no matter how unhappy they are about it, nobody can do anything about it."

"And you'd wait for me until then?" Alice asked. "Because you're my one and only. There's no one for me but you."

"Bubbs, I'll wait for you my whole life if I have to."

-cc-

Bella continued to thrive and bloom through her pregnancy. She had become vigilant with regards to her security, but refused to hide and not live her life. She had thought about telling Charlie and Sue, but didn't know how to do it without telling her family the details of her complicated relationship with Edward. She had been for a check-up at the antenatal clinic, and her most recent scan had shown that Little One was perfectly healthy. She had picked up Seth's shifts at Clear Swan and enjoyed working behind the counter, making delicious food, experimenting with new recipes and learning the tricks of the trade from Sue. Sue gave her complete flexibility when it came to her shift choices, which was useful because it meant that she had the whole weekend off to spend with the Cullens.

Bella collected them from Manchester Piccadilly Station and from then on, she had been thoroughly entertained, delighted to be reminded of what a lovely family they were. She had taken them back to Didsbury and showed them round. She had given Esme and Carlisle the larger of the spare bedrooms, and Jasper the smaller, whilst Alice was bunking in with her in her king-sized bed.

Alice had requested that Bella make Mexican food for dinner, which Bella was delighted to do, and the rest of the Cullens had loved it. After dinner, Alice had spotted Bella's New York City version of Monopoly and dragged Carlisle and Jasper into a game with her, whilst Bella and Esme went for a walk to the corner shop to pick up some more milk.

"I have to say, Bella dear, you do look radiant."

"Thank you." Bella replied shyly. Bella's feelings of guilt suddenly bubbled up. She worried that Esme thought she was a seductress and tramp for having an affair with her nephew and getting knocked up.

They walked in silence for a few minutes.

"Bella, was coming to stay with you the wrong thing? Do you feel awkward?" Esme asked, conscious of Bella's burning cheeks and hunched-over stance.

"No, I'm delighted to have you. It's been wonderful catching up with you and I'm always delighted to spend time with Alice." _In fact, I wish she was my child and not Jessica's._

"But you seem tense, dear."

They were stood in front of the corner shop, but Esme wanted to talk to Bella some more. She sat down on a bench just outside the storefront and patted the seat next to her.

"The thing is..." Bella struggled to find words to articulate. "...What must you think of me?!" she suddenly exclaimed, before burying her face in her hands. "Knocked up by a married man, single mother-to-be... you've been so lovely to me, but I can't help but think that you must..."

"Bella." Esme interrupted, putting her hand on Bella's arm. Bella looked up, eyes glistening. "I think that you're a great girl. You made a mistake, as did Edward. You had a lapse in judgement and gave into your hormones one time. Yes, I will admit that I wish your lapse had occurred when he was divorced, but then, if you hadn't come along, he wouldn't have realised he was so unhappy, and he wouldn't have found out about Jessica's infidelity."

"I guess..."

"Bella, you and he fit together like a hand in a glove. I thought it at Christmas. You belong together. I know I'm being strict about the no-contact thing, but it's only until the divorce is finalised, and it's progressing well. The decree nisi arrived today. The decree absolute could be here in just eight weeks."

"That soon?"

"Yes." Bella couldn't help the smile on her face. _Just two months._ But then she started to worry about how Alice would take the news.

"What about Alice? She loves me now but what's she going to be like when she finds out about me and her dad? What's she going to think?"

"Involve her in as much of the pregnancy as is possible, and once the divorce goes through, spend as much time with her and Edward as possible so that she gets used to you being together. It's going to be tough but it will be easier if she picks up on the natural chemistry between you for herself."

"That's really good advice. Thank you Esme." Esme scooted closer and gave Bella a hug.

"You're welcome. Now shall we get that milk?" She asked, getting up and offering a helping hand to Bella, which she took.

"Yes. Of course."

Esme and Bella walked into the shop, unaware of a figure tucked behind a tree, who had overheard their entire conversation.

-cc-

Saturday was the busiest day of the week at Green Park Music. By the time the staff arrived to open up, there was already a small group of people standing outside, waiting to go in. It was not because they were desperate to buy a musical instrument or some sheet music. It was to hear members of staff play. Edward had started playing one day to help a customer choose a piano and the music had drifted out of the door, enticing people in off the street.

Josh, one of Edward's managers, who played the guitar, had then come up with the idea of holding Saturday morning performances and a monthly Wednesday evening concert, in order to drum up business. It had worked very well. Sarah, Edward's other manager, had then decided to film each concert or performance and upload them to the shop's website. The first time a video of Edward playing went on the site, their online orders doubled.

This Saturday morning, Edward was doing two performances on the piano, one playing Mozart and one playing Burt Bacharach classics (he could sing well too). By the time he was on the last song of his set, a rousing rendition of 'Close to You,' the shop was packed and everyone was singing along.

"Thank you for stopping by everyone. Please stay and browse our instruments, sheet music and accessories. My team and I are more than happy to help with any questions you might have." There was a round of applause and Edward gave them a smile and a small bow before heading to the other side of shop where Sarah was standing with the video camera.

"Well done Boss." She said. "I'm tempted to upload the video to YouTube. It's great. I can't believe you never pursued a career performing."

"No, not for me. This is the largest size crowd I could cope with. Plus, it's too unreliable a source of income. I had a wife and daughter at the age of 22. I needed to provide for them."

"I know what you mean." Sarah agreed. A talented cellist and violinist, at age eighteen she had sacrificed a place at Birmingham Music Conservatory when her mother died suddenly. She had worked in retail ever since, in order to support her younger brother and sister.

"Yeah. Now promise me you won't upload that to YouTube. Just the website, OK?"

Sarah laughed. For such a good looking guy, he was very shy. He didn't do anything for her though. She was into girls.

"Don't worry. I won't."

"Good." He said in relief. He was about to do a tour of the room to see if any customers needed help when someone called his name.

"Edward?" He turned round to see Mike Newton in front of him.

"Mike." He said through gritted teeth before turning to Sarah. "Sarah, please could you go help out Matt on the sales desk?"

"Err, sure thing Boss." She moved away, catching the sudden tension in the air.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing up here." Edward said quietly once she'd gone.

"I know, Edward. I'm sorry..." Mike looked terrible. He hadn't shaved, his eyes were red and puffy from a lack of sleep and his hair was lank and greasy. "...I just..."

"What? Thought you'd just drop in for a visit, pretend that you didn't try to destroy my family and my marriage. That you didn't betray me? That you weren't an accomplice in Jessica's plans to rob me of half my inheritance?" Edward hissed.

"Five minutes, please?"

Edward was suddenly aware of a shop full of people and sensed that Mike was on the verge of tears. He side-stepped around Mike and opened the door to the back of the shop, where his office was located.

"Come on."

Mike followed him to the office and sank into a chair. Edward preferred to stand and instead rested against the desk.

"So talk."

"Have you spoken to Jessica at all?"

"No. Not since the day of the divorce negotiations. I understand that she's in California with her mother." Edward replied.

"I haven't heard from her in nearly three weeks. I tried phoning her mother's house several times but the housekeeper just put the phone down on me. I was wondering if you or Alice had heard from her?"

"Look Mike, Jessica has not been in contact with Alice at all since she went to California. It would be just like Jessica to swan off and not tell anyone." Edward replied, thinking of the number of times Jessica had disappeared for a weekend, causing him to worry, and then turned up having decided to go away with friends for the weekend, unconcerned about telling him.

"Would you know how to get in contact with her sister? Would she know?"

Edward wanted to yell at Mike to leave Bella the hell alone, but restrained himself.

"No. Now I think it's time for you to leave."

"Edward, please, man! I'm so sorry for my behaviour. We just fell in love and..."

"You stupid dick. _You _fell in love. I doubt Jessica did, whatever she might have told you. She'll turn up when she wants something." Mike looked broken-hearted.

"I bought a ring. I was going to buy a house..."

"Well more fool you. Now, get out of my shop and don't come back."

"But..."

"OUT! Before I throw you out." Edward stood up and towered over Mike. He nodded pathetically and left.

Edward watched him go and took a moment to compose himself before returning to the shop floor.

"You OK, Edward?" Sarah asked. "Who was that guy?"

"A former friend. If he ever tries to come back, please tell him he's not welcome, OK?"

"OK Boss." She replied. "Look, Josh, Matt and me, we're going out after work. Do you want to come? We're only going to Masala Zone for curry and then to the bar where Matt's girlfriend works in Soho. It's not fancy like what you're probably used to, but if you're not doing anything...?"

Sarah, Josh and the assistants liked and respected Edward. They felt for him, going through a divorce from his bitch ex-wife, and appreciated that it was lonely being the boss. She really hoped that he would say yes, but expected, given his shyness, that he would say no.

For the first time in a very long time, Edward felt like being sociable.

"As long as I'm not imposing, that would be great."

"Really?" Edward nodded and smiled. "Ace!"

-cc-

On Sunday, Bella took the Cullens round to Sue and Charlie's house for lunch. Sue and Charlie's Sunday lunches were kind of famous. Sue put on a magnificent spread and it was rare that they were attended by less than twenty people. Sue, ever the hostess, loved to have a house full of people, and had a 'more the merrier' policy.

"Mama Sue, you have enough food here to feed the whole street!" Bella commented. "Who else are we expecting?"

"Jake, Leah and Billy," Sue began, referring to Charlie's best friend and Jake's father, "Sam, Emily and Brady, Katie's coming with Mel and probably their pooches too, Seth's friends Tommy, Colin and Alex might be coming, oh and Emmett phoned to say that he and Pete are coming, and they're each bringing a date."

"Is that the same Emmett that Rosalie's seeing?" Esme enquired.

"I believe so."

"Rosalie?" Sue asked.

"My eldest. I have twin daughters as well as Jasper. Rosalie and Charlotte are twenty-six." Esme explained.

The house slowly started to fill with people. Alice and Jasper were playing on the Wii with Seth and his friends. Bella, Leah, Emily, Katie and Mel talked about babies, puppies and juggling family with careers. Carlisle, Billy and Charlie played cards and talked about football, kids and politics. Sam and Jake were outside, tinkering with Charlie's old Land Rover, which had started making rattling noises, and Esme was helping Sue with the food.

The doorbell rang once more as Sue was just about ready to put the food out. Bella went to answer it.

"Hey Belly!" Emmett hugged her warmly. He was followed by Rosalie, who tentatively stepped into the house.

"Err, hi."

"Rosalie. It's lovely to meet you again." Bella smiled warmly at her, and shook her hand.

"Thanks for having us over." Rosalie replied, feeling slightly less nervous as she stepped into the warm and welcoming Clearwater-Swan family home. She was surprised at how much she wanted to make a good impression on Emmett's closest friends, who he called his second family.

"It's a pleasure." Bella replied. "Em, I thought Pete was coming." Emmett snickered.

"He is." He pointed out to the driveway, where Peter was laughing in the arms of a slender blonde girl, whilst kissing her. "Eventually."

"When Mum said Pete was bringing a date, I thought it would be Maria." Bella said. "But, she's definitely not Maria!"

Peter had been with the dark-haired Maria for three years and she hadn't been well-liked by their group of friends. She had hurt Peter on many occasions, been possessive, controlling, and demanding. They were on and off more than a light switch. Maria had dumped him a few weeks earlier, when she got a job in Paris as a stylist for a fashion magazine and this time it had seemed like it was a definitive ending.

"No. That's Charlotte, my twin sister." Rosalie said.

"How long has that been going on?"

"Since we arrived in Manchester yesterday." Rosalie explained. "We came to cheer Pete up, and brought Charlotte because she needed a break from London. The rest is history!" She laughed.

"OMG, Rosie?" Alice had popped her head into the hallway. "ROSIE!" She exclaimed before barrelling towards her.

"Whoa short stuff!" Emmett laughed as she crashed into his side. "Are all the Cullen women such fireballs?"

"Yes! And you love it!" Rosalie told him, kissing him on the jaw before hugging Alice, who led her through to the living area, where the rest of the Cullens were surprised and delighted to see her.

Peter and Charlotte eventually stopped kissing long enough to come into the house where Charlotte was taken aback to be greeted by virtually her whole family.

"What are you doing here?" She asked as she greeted them all.

"We're visiting Alice's aunt Bella. We could ask you the same thing, dear." Esme replied. "We thought you were starting in King Lear this weekend at Donmar Warehouse?"

"I lost the part!" Charlotte told her mother. "The producer promised me the part of Regan, but at the last minute, the director decided I looked too 'milkmaid' for the part and cut me! After I worked so hard!"

"Oh, Lottie!"

Charlotte had wanted to be an actress since she was little. She had participated in youth drama groups from the age of eight and throughout her teenage years. She had studied drama and theatre studies at RADA, a famous drama college, before becoming a jobbing actress. She lived in a large shared house in Shoreditch with seven other actors, working for peanuts, occasionally having to borrow money from Rosalie, Esme and Carlisle, hoping each time she auditioned that her lucky break was just around the corner. However, in five years, she had only had a handful of significant roles in serious plays. She had been pinning her hopes on the production of King Lear, but now her dreams were shattered once again.

"I'm seriously wondering why I bother. I graduated from RADA, yet here I am, five years later, and I've got nothing to show for it!" Charlotte exclaimed, either oblivious or unconcerned that the whole of the rest of the party had stopped what they were doing and were listening in.

Rosalie came over and hugged her sister. They were fraternal twins, and although they were both blonde and blue-eyed, the similarity ended there. Rosalie was the older by twelve minutes. She had inherited her father's tall stature, but her mother's curvaceous figure. She had large breasts, a narrow waist and wide hips, with long legs. Charlotte was shorter, around 5' 5", the same height as Esme, and slender, with a boyish figure and smaller chest. Both were equally beautiful but different-looking. Rosalie was academic, practical and competitive. Charlotte was more creative and abstract in her thinking.

"I'm sick of having no money, of sponging off you all, of living in that stinky house with those stuck-up histrionic airheads... it's such a shit life! I don't think it's worth it anymore!" Charlotte continued her rant before letting go of Rosalie and sitting down next to Esme.

"What would you do instead?"

"I don't know. I've been talking it over with Rosie, Emmett and Pete," Charlotte gestured to Peter and blushed when he smiled at her. "Perhaps go back to school to get a teaching certificate, or go into directing, or maybe just get a regular job for a while and do amateur stuff to try to find my love for acting once again."

"Well, I'm glad you've got some ideas at least. Now are you going to introduce me to your new friend?" Esme asked.

"Oh." Charlotte blushed again before introducing Peter to the Cullens. Peter then introduced her to his friends, ending with Bella.

"Hi Charlotte."

"It's so nice to finally meet you. Alice talks about you all the time, as do Pete and Emmett."

"Likewise. Alice adores you and your sister. I'm looking forward to getting to know you both better."

Sue called everyone into the kitchen then for the buffet lunch. Bella was quiet during the meal. She hung back watching as the Swans, the Clearwaters and their friends all mixed and mingled with the Cullens like they'd known each other for years instead of minutes or hours. Little One kicked, as if he knew what she was thinking.

_The thing that would make this scene complete is Edward._

-cc-

**One more chapter today! Keep reading please! And thanks in advance for your review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello! As promised, this is the second of two chapters I'm posting today!**

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 14**

Just over six weeks had passed since the Cullens' visit to Manchester. Edward and Esme had filed for the decree absolute, and expected it go through within two weeks, unless Jessica or James could provide the court with a reason not to grant it, which at this point in the process could only be a challenge to the grounds on which the divorce would be granted.

Jessica had still not made contact with anybody in England, including James, who was getting desperate. Bree had left Cullen and Associates as Lucy had returned to work; she and Riley had only managed to put a digital recorder into Esme's office answering machine, but it hadn't thrown up anything interesting, about Edward Cullen or otherwise. Bree had also managed to find a copy of Edward Cullen's last will and testament, which he had updated in March when he first filed for divorce. Prior to the divorce the will, which named Esme as executor, had left everything to Alice and any other children with an allowance for Jessica. Now the will left everything to Alice and any other children, with no mention of Jessica. Edward had stipulated that custody of Alice would go to Bella, unless Alice felt strongly otherwise, in which case she could live with Esme and Carlisle.

The mention of Bella in Edward's will further confirmed in James's mind that Bella and Edward were involved, but it was nowhere near enough evidence to influence the divorce. He had been unable to locate Bella at all. If she was in England, she had not yet registered on the electoral roll. James did not have enough investigative skill to know where to begin to look for her, to hack into her bank accounts, phone or her email, and although he wouldn't admit it to himself, his increasing cocaine dependence was affecting his work. He was hoping that Laurent, who was returning to London imminently now that his mother was better, would be able to find her quickly, and get the proof he needed in order to stall the divorce.

Feeling stressed, James pulled out his 'Snow Kit'- a mirror, a tightly rolled £20 note, an expired credit card and, of course, a vial of white powder. He cut himself three lines and quickly snorted them up. His confidence returned as the rush overtook him. _I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna break Edward Cullen, get that cash and finally buy out Evenson._

"Bit early to be doing lines, _n'est-ce pas?_" Laurent had stepped into James's office.

"Laurent! Fucking hell, am I glad to see you. Where the fuck have you been?"

"No 'how are you?' No 'how is your mother?' James, where are your manners?"

"They went down the toilet, and so will the commission if we don't get some hard evidence about a relationship between Edward Cullen and Jessica Cullen's sister. So yeah, glad you're back, glad you're mother's not dead etc. Get your ass in gear and find something I can fucking use!"

"Jesus. Calm down." You need to go slow with the cocaine, James. I'll get to work now."

-cc-

Laurent sat in front of his computer and laughed to himself. James was an idiot, a cokehead and an idiot. He had found Isabella Swan, or Bella as she was better known, and it had taken just two days and some internet searching to locate her in Manchester. She and her stepmother Sue had been mentioned on a few local food blogs who were fans of Bella's cupcakes and their family deli's new range of gourmet Greek-influenced food. There weren't any pictures, but Laurent considered that the name was distinctive enough that she was the person he was looking for.

Laurent informed James of his breakthrough, who ordered him to get up to Manchester straight away. The next morning he was in the city, standing outside the city centre branch of Clear Swan Deli-cafe.

"Good morning sir. What can I get you?" A very tall, olive-skinned, smiling man in his early twenties greeted Laurent.

"Err... Americano and..." Laurent looked along the counter. "...and one of those cupcakes." He added, pointing at a plate of chocolate cupcakes, each topped with a maraschino cherry.

"Good choice. They're our Thursday special. Chocolate cherry-cola cupcakes. My sister made them. You'll have to let me know what you think." The guy chatted away as he made Laurent's coffee and placed the cupcake on a plate for him, along with a napkin. Laurent was unused to the man's friendly banter; it wasn't the done thing to chat to people in such a way in London, but it was evidently the norm in Manchester.

"OK." Laurent paid the guy and took a seat in the cafe, within earshot of the counter. The cafe was reasonably busy. There were young mothers with their babies and toddlers, businessmen with laptops open, giggly teenage girls and groups of gossiping gay guys, a real mix. He stirred some sugar into the coffee and took a sip before biting into the cake. It was delicious. Dark chocolate icing, fruity cherry-caramel cake, not too sweet.

He had just finished the last mouthful of his cake when he heard a female voice at the service counter.

"Seth, are you all right to hold the fort while I take Bella to see the midwife?" He turned round to see a pretty woman in her early 50s, with similar olive skin and black hair, talking to the young man.

"Sure Ma. We're good-to-go for the afternoon, so take your time."

"I might take the rest of the day then, help Bella with a few errands and things in Altrincham, and then pop into the Didsbury shop to check the books."

"No problem. Good luck helping Bella though." Seth scoffed. "You know B. It doesn't matter that she's waddling like a chubby duck. She'll still insist she can do everything for herself."

"She's not gonna say no to Mama Sue!" The woman exclaimed before kissing her son on the cheek and coming out from around the corner. "Bye Seth."

"See ya Ma!"

Laurent downed the rest of his coffee, picked up the napkin and followed Sue out of the cafe. She walked around 50 yards and got into an old Land Rover that was parked down a side street. Laurent noted down the car registration number but could not follow her any further because his car was miles away. He wasn't too bothered, however. He looked at the napkin in his hand, which held the addresses of the other two branches of Clear Swan Deli-Cafe. He knew Sue's movements and he was confident that pretty soon, he'd know all about Bella Swan's too.

-cc-

Edward and Alice were back in Hampstead. They both stood outside the house that they had, at one time, loved so much. Now Edward felt numb. He and Jessica had been happy here at one time, when they first moved in, when Alice was a toddler and Edward was working normal hours. Things had started to go wrong when Alice started pre-school and Jessica started spending her time with the other yummy-mummies of Hampstead, which coincided with Edward getting a promotion at the advertising agency and working ridiculously long hours, determined not to rely on his parents to support his young family.

Edward Senior and Elizabeth had both come from money, but both had gone to university and worked hard as a neurosurgeon and a cancer research scientist respectively. They only took advantage of their wealth once they had retired at the age of 60. They used some of it to refurbish their house in the exclusive London district of Little Venice; Elizabeth had inherited it from her bachelor uncle Christopher when she was twenty-one, and it was the house in which Edward had been born and raised. They also used some for a year-long trip of a lifetime to Australia to celebrate their retirement; sadly it was a trip from which they never returned.

Edward and Jessica gradually drifted apart, but Edward, who believed in the commitment he had made the day they got married, persevered in trying to keep her happy. He tried to be romantic and he tried to give her the things she wanted, but the more he gave, the more she took without reciprocity. In the end he had settled for living with Jessica like she was his housemate, rather than a spouse.

As Alice became older, he found himself getting frustrated with Jessica for not setting boundaries for their daughter, who was extremely intelligent and would run rings round her mother and most adults in order to get what she wanted, her mother especially. Jessica didn't see it, and gave her whatever she wanted. Edward developed a terrible premonition of Alice turning into a spoilt, demanding, whiny girl when she was older.

One day when Alice was four years old, he confessed his worries to Esme and his mother Elizabeth, who both suggested that Alice's energy and intelligence needed to be channelled into something productive and disciplined. Elizabeth suggested ballet. Esme suggested French classes. Edward signed Alice up to both, and the rest was history. Now his fourteen year old daughter was a gifted ballet dancer who spoke fluent French, and whilst she loved shopping and girly pretty things, nobody in their right mind would ever call her spoilt. She had the most loving heart and generous spirit of anyone he'd ever known, except perhaps Bella.

Pride rippled through him. Alice was starting another set of performances with the Royal Ballet in a few weeks' time, this time for Alice in Wonderland. Her ballet teacher at the Royal Ballet Academy had pulled him aside to tell him that if Alice continued to show as much dedication and talent as she was currently, then she was a shoo-in for a scholarship to the Royal Ballet School's full-time programme when she was sixteen.

Tentatively Edward opened the door to the house. The house was effectively sold and the new owners were taking possession in a week or so, once the final paperwork had gone through. The new owners were also buying all the furniture, fixtures and fittings, but the estate agent had asked them to remove any personal effects.

Edward only cared about a few personal artefacts that he'd left behind when he and Alice moved out. He wanted Alice's baby albums and her first ballet shoes and tutu, his father's collection of ships in bottles, his mother's cake tins and childhood crochet blanket, and his prized first edition of Claude Debussy's _Suite Bergamasque,_ the piano suite which contained _Clair de Lune_. He prayed that Jessica hadn't stolen or wrecked them.

He picked up the stack of mail that was on the floor. The house was clean and tidy, as he had kept Nettie on to keep the house clean until it was sold, but it felt eerily empty. The mail contained nothing of importance for him, just a heap of letters for Jessica. He set them on the kitchen table and walked into the living room where Alice had started putting her ballet trophies and medals into a box.

"How are you doing, princess?" Alice looked up with a tearstained face. "Oh, Alice!" He rushed forward to hug her.

"I'm OK. I'm OK!" She cried. "It's just weird. This house and our family used to be my whole world, but it feels like such a long time ago now. And packing up this stuff just makes me realise that Mum isn't just gone, she was never really there in the first place."

"What do you mean?" Alice held up a small gold plated medal with a blue ribbon.

"Do you remember this?" Edward smiled.

"Yes. That was your first All-London ballet recital, when you were seven. You danced to The Nutcracker."

"You were there in the front row with the video camera. Where was Mum?" Edward thought for a moment. He couldn't remember and looked blankly at Alice. "Exactly. Who knows where she was? The important thing is that she wasn't there with you watching me dance. You went to almost every single one of my performances. I can count on one hand the number of times Mum went, and you were the one that worked."

"Alice..."

"It's fine, Dad." She smiled up at him sadly. "Let's just get through this and get the hell out of here back to our new life."

"Sure thing, princess." Edward replied. "Alice?"

"Yes, Dad?"

"I know you're upset about your mum not being in touch, but how upset were you about the fact that she took up with Mike? About her cheating?"

Alice pondered Edward's question for a moment or two. They had hardly spoken about Jessica's infidelity since the day, back in March, when Edward had found out about it.

"The thing is, Dad, I don't think cheating is acceptable, but if Mum was honest about the fact that she had someone else, that her feelings had changed, I think I could have been forgiving." Alice explained. Edward remained quiet, hoping she would speak some more. "I was aware she was seeing Mike, but it didn't impact our daily life. I didn't want that to change so I kept it quiet. Looking back, though, whatever Mum might have told Mike, I don't believe she ever loved him. I think that if she fell in love with him and it was a forever kind of love, I'd have understood, because you can't help who you fall in love with can you?" She said, her thoughts momentarily straying to Jasper. "But Mum used Mike for sex and attention, and I think she used you to provide for her. I was just collateral damage."

"I really hope that that's not the case, Alice."

Alice merely shrugged her shoulders.

Edward kissed her on the forehead and picked up another box. Within an hour, they had packed up everything that wasn't to be left for the new owners, and placed them into the van that Edward had hired.

"I think that's the last of it. Ready to go to the storage place?"

"Yep." Alice said. "What about Mum's stuff?"

"Aunt Esme will talk to her lawyer and arrange with him a time for her to collect it." Edward replied.

"OK then."

Edward went to lock up the house, whilst Alice went to sit in the van. As they drove away, she wiped away a stray tear and then texted Bella and Jasper.

-cc-

Bella and Sue were grocery shopping when Bella received Alice's text. Sunday lunchtime was not a good time to go to the supermarket as it was very busy. Bella hated to admit it, but she was starting to get tired doing the most mundane of tasks and her weekly grocery shop was one of them. Sue had insisted on helping her out.

_Really stressful day. Dad and I packed the last of our things from Hampstead house. Mum left quite a bit of stuff behind. So hard to see it again. Could we chat later, talk it through? Alice xxx_

"Everything OK, Baby Girl?"

"Alice is struggling today. She and her dad are doing the final packing up of their family home." Bella told her.

"Oh, the poor thing. Do you want to call her?"

"Yeah, but we're nearly done here and I don't want to have the noise of the supermarket in the background when I talk to her. I'll call her when I get home."

"OK, well why don't I take the trolley and get the loo roll, and you go get the teabags, and I'll meet you at the checkouts?"

"Sure." Bella turned and headed towards the tea and coffee aisle, quickly texting Alice to tell her that she would call within half an hour, as soon as she got home. After picking up the teabags, she walked down the aisle and into the checkout area. She was almost at the checkout where Sue was standing in line when she remembered that she was also nearly out of cocoa. She turned round, headed back and walked round the corner into the aisle, slap bang into someone, dropping the box of teabags.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Bella exclaimed.

"No problem." The man, a black guy with dreads and a French-African accent, picked up the box of teabags for her before standing up straight. As Bella made eye contact with him, she couldn't help the slight gasp that escaped her mouth. _I recognise that face._ She instantly remembered the information that Esme had sent her.

_This is a photograph of one of Jessica's lawyer's associates. He's a private investigator by the name of Laurent Four__é__. We don't think he will be dangerous but please be vigilant. _

Bella remembered the picture Esme sent and the man in front of her was most definitely Laurent Fouré.

"Err...t-thank you." She murmured. As she did so, she involuntarily took a step back and her back met the end of someone's shopping trolley. The trolley moved and Bella stumbled, tripping over the wheels. She cried out as she fell backwards, cracking her head loudly on the hard supermarket floor before falling unconscious.

"BELLA!" Sue ran from her spot in the checkout queue to her stepdaughter's side. "Baby Girl!" A crowd of people had gathered, and someone was calling 999. Another person was checking Bella's pulse and her breathing.

Laurent managed to back out of the crowd and exited the supermarket quickly. The last thing he wanted was to be questioned by the police. Nor did he want to be around when Bella Swan woke up. It seemed like she recognised him when they made eye contact, although he didn't know how. He got into his car and drove out of the supermarket car park, just as an ambulance drove in.

Sue was distraught. She stroked Bella's head and prayed for her to wake up.

"Please Bella. Please open your eyes."

The ambulance crew arrived and checked Bella over, attaching wires and monitors. One of them pressed down hard on her thumb, and Bella's eyes flickered open momentarily. She tried to move her hand away and cried out before closing her eyes again. They asked Sue several questions about Bella's health and the pregnancy, which Sue tried to answer as much as she could in the midst of her upset.

"I'm afraid Bella's got quite a serious head injury. We need to get her to hospital as soon as possible to get her and the baby checked out. Will you come with her in the back of the ambulance?"

"Of course!" Sue answered. She picked up Bella's handbag and her own and followed the ambulance crew to the van.

The next ten minutes passed in a blur as they sped through the streets of Manchester to the hospital, Manchester Royal Infirmary. Sue watched helplessly as the ambulance crew rushed her beloved stepdaughter into the Resuscitation area of the Emergency Department and several doctors and nurses rushed forward. Sue tried to stand by her bedside but a young female doctor, around Bella's age, wearing green scrubs, stopped her.

"I'm sorry, Mrs Swan, but we need to work on Bella right now. I know you must be really worried but we need to see to her as fast as possible."

"I understand." Sue replied, her voice hoarse with emotion.

"Let me show you our relatives' room. You can have a cup of tea and make phone calls. We'll come see you as soon as she's stabilised to let you know what's going on."

"OK."

Sue let the kindly doctor show her into the relatives' room and sunk into a bright blue tub sofa. For a moment she sat with her head in her hands trying to absorb what had just happened. Just twenty minutes earlier, she and Bella had been laughing and joking, planning what they were going to have for dinner. Now her beloved Baby Girl was critically ill with a head injury.

"Mrs Swan?" The doctor from earlier, whose name was Mary, popped her head into the relatives' room.

"How's my daughter? Is she awake?"

"She's responding to pain but she's not fully conscious. She may just have a concussion, but we need to rule out a more serious injury. We're monitoring her and waiting for the duty OB/GYN doctor to check out the baby before we take her to the scanner. Would you like a couple of minutes to see her?"

"Yes please!" Sue followed Mary to the Resuscitation area, where Bella was lying on a hospital cot, with numerous monitoring wires attached to her.

"Oh Bella!"

"Mmm...Baby." Bella murmured.

"It's OK, Bella. I'm here. The doctors are looking after you and Little One."

She kissed Bella's forehead.

"Mmm...Edward... please... Baby." Bella mumbled.

"What's that Bella?" Bella didn't respond. Sue pressed Bella's hand.

"Edward... Little One... Edward... Alice..." Mary and a nurse came in then.

"I'm sorry, we have to ask you to go back to the relatives' room now. I promise we'll let you know what's going on as soon as we know."

"OK."

Sue walked back to the relatives' room and sat down again. She took a deep breath and picked up Bella's handbag, finding her phone quickly. Bella's mention of Edward in her incoherent mumbles had helped Sue make a decision about calling a certain person. She scrolled through the contacts until she found the number of the person she knew she needed to call.

_Esme Cullen._

-cc-

An hour had passed since Bella was rushed into the hospital. Sue had phoned Esme's mobile and house phone but there was no reply. She knew from the conversation that she'd overheard between Bella and Esme several weeks earlier that Edward, Bella's soon-to-be ex-brother-in-law, was the father of Bella's baby. She knew that he and Bella were in love but were biding their time until Edward's divorce came through. After waiting twenty minutes to see if Esme called back, she called the last number Bella had for Esme in her phone- her office number.

"_Hello, you are through to the voicemail of Esme Cullen at Cullen and Associates. I'm afraid that neither my assistant nor I are available to take your call. Please leave your name, number, the time you called and a brief message, and we will return your call as soon as possible."_

"Hello Esme, this is Sue Swan here. It's 2pm on Sunday. I'm calling because Bella's been rushed into hospital with a head injury. We're waiting to find out how she is. I've tried your house phone and mobile too. Please could you call me back as soon as you get this? Bella's asking for Edward and Alice. I think that they should be here. "

After leaving her number, Sue hung up. Bella's phone immediately beeped with a text.

_Hey, Aunt B? You OK? Am at home now so call whenever you're free. Could really do with hearing your voice. Alice xxx _

Sue was torn. Should she let Alice know, or wait to see what was happening? She decided to wait until she had a progress update from the doctor and had spoken to Esme.

There was a knock on the door and then Charlie came in, dressed in his uniform. He had gone into work on the weekend in order to help coordinate the search for a local drugs baron who had gone on the run, but had come straight over to the hospital when Sue phoned him.

"Sue, love! What happened? How is she?" He asked frantically, embracing his beloved wife.

"She was unconscious at first but when I left her, nearly an hour ago, she was mumbling. Then they asked me to leave so the obstetrician could check the baby and then they were going to scan her head."

"Oh, God. I hope she's all right!" Sue held onto him tight, praying for the same thing.

"Mrs Swan?" Mary, the doctor, had popped her head round the door. "Oh! Who's this?" She asked, taking in Charlie in his uniform.

"I'm Charles Swan. Isabella is my daughter. Please, have you any news?"

"My name is Dr Mary Mahoney, sir. I'm the registrar on duty. I do have some news, yes. Please, take a seat." Sue and Charlie sat down on the sofa, whilst Mary sat on a chair opposite. "Firstly, the good news. The baby is fine. The heart rate and movements are all normal. Also, the scan shows that Bella has a concussion, but no long-lasting serious injury."

"And the bad news?"

"She's still not fully conscious. We're going to admit her to one of the antenatal wards overnight, and hopefully she'll regain full consciousness and be able to go home tomorrow."

"That's better than the worst case scenario I'd built up in my mind." Sue said, relieved.

"Please, Doctor, may I see her?" Charlie asked.

"Of course. Please come this way."

Charlie and Sue followed Mary to Bella's bedside. Charlie gasped at the sight of Bella looking pale, with wires covering her chest and baby bump.

"Oh, God..." He murmured. "Bells? It's Dad. Can you hear me?"

Bella moaned softly.

"Baby..." she mumbled.

"The baby's OK, Bella. You and the baby are going to be OK."

A couple of porters arrived then to take Bella up to the antenatal ward. Just then, Bella's mobile started ringing. Sue looked at the screen. It was Esme.

"Charlie, go up with Bella. I'll explain all later but I really need to take this call."

Charlie looked at his wife quizzically but agreed and went with the porters. Sue immediately picked up the call.

"Hi Esme, it's Sue on Bella's phone."

-cc-

**Eeek! What do you think? **

**Next posting will be Wednesday! **


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Can I just say that all of you, my dear readers, are amazing, lovely people! Thank you so much for the reviews, PMs, follows and favourites! **

**I'm having a good week, for once, and I'm ahead of schedule with my editing, so I thought I'd publish this a day early. **

**Other good news- my last story, 'The Tide is High' got nominated for Fic of the Week at The Lemonade Stand ( .net). If you have read the story please consider voting for it! If you've not read it, why not give it a whirl?**

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 15**

An hour or so after Edward and Alice left Hampstead, they were home, and had taken in all the boxes from the van. Jessica's things went into their allocated storage unit in the apartment building's basement; everything else went up to the apartment.

Edward was restless. He couldn't yet face unpacking the boxes so they were stacked up in the spare room but he couldn't decide what else he wanted to do.

"Dad, you're really fidgety. It's starting to get annoying." Alice commented, as her phone beeped with a text.

"Sorry princess." Alice didn't say anything as she was distracted by the text she had just received from Jasper. "Interesting message?"

"Oh, yeah. It's from Jasper. He's hanging out with his mates by the London Eye and wanted to know if he could pop in to borrow your Prometheus Blu-Ray?"

"I wouldn't have thought it would be his thing but of course he can borrow it." Edward replied, missing Alice's guilty eye-dart at her lie. Edward was right. Jasper wasn't into sci-fi at all. He liked historical movies and westerns. "As long as he doesn't bring his friends with him." Edward was fine with his young cousin coming over. Jasper was a great kid- gentle, quiet, serious and kind- but he was terrified of other teenage boys being around Alice, corrupting her innocence. He had even insisted on her attending an all-girls school.

"No, it's just him. He won't be here long."

"OK. Do you mind if I go out for a while? I think I'll go to the shop for a couple of hours to do some paperwork and test out the new piano in the showroom."

"No Dad, not at all. Aunt Bella's going to be calling soon anyway." Edward couldn't help but feel a little jealous that Alice could talk to Bella whenever she wanted but he couldn't.

"OK. Tell her I said hi." He kissed her on the cheek, put on his jacket and headed out of the door.

After doing some book-keeping and a few other odd jobs, Edward sat down at the newest of his show pianos, a spectacular Steinway & Sons Model D Concert Grand, and, thinking of Alice, he started to play the piano solo from Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite. As he brought the piece to an end, he drifted effortlessly into playing Schumann's Arabesque Op. 18, a romantic piece that reminded him of Bella. Finally, he played Brahms' Lullaby as he thought of Little One. The music had sounded spectacular as it reverberated around the showroom from the keys of the magnificent instrument.

Edward stepped away from the piano and started pacing the room. His head was filled with musical notes, all swirling around, begging to be pulled into a composition, and Edward hadn't composed for years, not since he met Jessica. _Perhaps I should have known then._

He walked to the other side of the shop, picked up a book of music manuscript paper and a pencil, and started writing. Soon he had sixteen bars of a piece, which he tested out on the Steinway. It was light, melodic and full of hope, Edward's hopes and wishes for a happy future and a happy family life with Alice, Bella and Little One. Edward was about to start writing some more, when his mobile rang. He glanced at the screen.

_Aunt Esme_

"Hello."

"_Hi Edward. Where are you?" _Esme replied, her voice strained and tight.

"I'm at the shop. Why?"

"_Alone?"_

"Yes. Alice is at home. Why? What's wrong?"

"_Listen, I don't want you to get too upset by this, but I just had a phone call from Sue Swan, Bella's stepmother."_

Edward felt a chill go down his spine. _Bella. My Bella._

"What's wrong? What's happened to Bella?" He asked urgently.

"_Edward, she had an accident. She tripped backwards in the supermarket and she hit her head."_

"Oh God! Is she OK? What about the baby? Esme?"

"_The baby's fine but Bella's got quite a nasty concussion, and is yet not fully conscious so the doctors are keeping her in for observation until they're happy that she's alert enough to go home."_

"She's not awake?"

"_No."_

Edward could feel the panic rise and rise inside him, bringing bile to the back of his throat and making his heart beat so fast he felt like he might take off. Losing Bella would be like losing half of himself.

"Right. I'm going to Manchester."

"_Edward, what about the div..."_

"I don't care! I need to be with Bella and our baby!"

"_We're so close though... Jessica..."_

"She can fucking take it all, for all I care! I'm going to Manchester! Tonight!"

Esme sighed loudly. She had agonised about telling him, knowing that he would react this way, but she couldn't keep him apart from Bella when she was sick and asking for him in her distress.

"_OK. What about Alice?"_

"She can't miss school or rehearsals. She'd lose her part at the Royal Ballet. Can she stay with you for a couple of days?"

"_Yes, of course. What are you going to tell her?"_

"Shit. I have no idea. I'll figure it out when I get home."

"_I'll drive over and meet you at the apartment to take Alice back to our house."_

"Thanks. Meet me in the lobby so we go in together, all right?"

"_Sure. See you then."_

Edward hung up and immediately texted Alice.

_Princess, I'll be home in 30 mins. Please pack an overnight bag including your school uniform ASAP. I'll explain all when I get there. Dad xxx_

As he got closer to home, however, Edward started to worry about telling Alice about the true nature of his relationship with Bella. Alice had been through a huge emotional upheaval in the past few months, especially today, and he didn't want to add to her stress. Yet, how could he keep the news that Bella was ill from Alice when she was sat at home, waiting for her to ring?

He was no closer to a solution when he met Esme in the lobby of the apartment building.

"I don't know what I'm going to tell her."

"Why don't we try the minimum and see if she'll accept it?"

"Mmm..." Edward pondered the idea sceptically. Alice was extremely inquisitive and intuitive. Edward and Esme both knew that the chances of her accepting a low-in-details answer were slim to none. "OK. Let's just go."

Esme and Edward rode up to the penthouse in silence both desperately worried about Bella, and about Alice. Edward felt quite sick as he opened the door of the apartment.

"Dad?" At the sound of the front door opening, Alice emerged from her dressing room carrying her purple leather holdall.

"Hey princess." Edward glanced at the holdall. "Thanks for doing what I asked."

"No problem." She kissed Esme on the cheek. "Hi Aunt Esme. What's going on?" She asked, her eyes darting warily between the two.

"Alice, you've been crying." Edward said, suddenly realising that Alice's cheeks were tear-stained and her eyes were rimmed with red. "Princess, what's wrong?"

"It's just been a rubbish day, and now I'm worried about Aunt Bella. She's not called me back. She said she'd call me back within an hour of my text, and it's been several hours now. I'm getting really worried about her." Alice explained.

Alice didn't miss the fact that her father's handsome face contorted with pain at the mention of her aunt.

"You're right, princess. It's been a crap day." Edward knelt down and hugged Alice. "Listen, you're going to be staying with Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle for a couple of days. I need to go out of town for something urgent." He glanced at Alice's hand and raised an eyebrow. It was covered in a layer of cling film.

"I spilled hot tea on it. No big deal." She explained. "Dad, where are you going? What urgent something?" She asked. Edward hated the worried tone in her voice.

"I-I can't tell you just yet, Alice. I promise that I'll tell you very soon, but..."

Alice dropped her holdall and crossed her arms.

"No! I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on!" Alice shouted, instinctively knowing that it was something to do with Bella, the stress of the day's events causing her temper to flare.

"Alice!"

"No! Tell me!" She cried. "It's to do with Aunt B isn't it? You know why she's not called me. Your face gives it away. What's happened?"

Edward glanced at Esme who merely shrugged. She just hoped that if James Hunter or Jessica found out now, that they were too late to affect the divorce papers.

"OK, Aunt Bella was in the supermarket and she fell over. She hit her head really hard and lost consciousness."

"Oh, God, Dad..." Alice exclaimed before clapping her hand over her mouth. "Is she going to be all right?"

"They don't think there's any lasting damage, but she's not fully awake. Look, princess. Bella, she... I... we..." Edward was struggling to find the words to explain why he just had to be by Bella's side.

"Dad." Alice interrupted. He glanced up and looked into her watery eyes. "It's OK. Go."

"Princess?"

Alice hugged her father and then whispered into his ear.

"It's OK. I know how you feel about her. Go. Make sure she's all right. Tell her that I love her and the baby too, and that I'll visit as soon as I can."

Edward was speechless. Alice kissed him on the cheek, picked up her holdall and her school bag, and walked out of the front door with Esme and Jasper, who had emerged from the bathroom at some point during his conversation with his daughter. He was only vaguely aware of Esme telling him to call her when he got to Manchester and had seen Bella.

_Alice knows. She knows about me and Bella. But how does she know? And how much does she know? _

He thought of nothing but that unanswered question and of his beloved Bella the whole way up to Manchester.

**Flashback- a couple of hours earlier:**

Alice was getting a bad feeling. Usually when Bella told her a time when she'd be calling, she would call at that time.

"Bubbles, she's probably got waylaid with shopping or cooking." Jasper handed her a mug of ginger tea with honey and sat down next to her at the breakfast bar in the apartment's kitchen with his own mug of regular tea.

Jasper had been hanging out with some friends from school by the River Thames, near the London Eye, but when he got Alice's text, he told her that he was coming over, regardless of whether Edward was there or not. Whenever she was hurting, he felt her pain right through to his bones, and he could never settle until he'd seen her. As it happened, Edward decided that he would go to the shop for a while after they returned from Hampstead, so Alice and Jasper were alone.

"I don't know Zippy. I just have this weird sense that something's not right." Alice said, absent-mindedly stirring her tea.

"Maybe you should text her again. Remind her?"

Alice frowned. She normally didn't have to remind Bella at all, but she did as Jasper suggested. They sat and waited, holding hands and sipping their tea quietly, but no reply came.

"I can just feel it in my gut that something's wrong." Alice said after around five minutes, getting up suddenly, with the intention of pacing around the kitchen to work off her worry. However, in doing so, she knocked over her mug of scalding hot tea, and it went all over her hand.

"OWWW!" She cried.

"SHIT!" Jasper exclaimed, before grabbing Alice by the elbow and pulling her to the sink. He turned on the cold tap and shoved her hand under the flowing water. Carlisle had insisted that he learn basic first aid when he was ten, and now he was very glad of it. "Just keep your hand there Bubbs. Do you have any cling film?"

"In the drawer under the oven." She mumbled. Jasper fished out the cling film.

"And painkillers?"

"Um, try my bathroom cabinet." She said, shaking her hand under the water.

"OK. Keep your hand there, even if it feels too cold. We gotta stop the burn from penetrating past your top layer of skin. I'll go find some pills for you."

"Thanks Zippy." Before he went, he kissed the side of her mouth and caressed her left cheekbone with his thumb.

Jasper went through to Alice's bathroom but couldn't find any tablets in the cabinet.

"Bubbles, I can't see any! Any place else?" He yelled.

"Try my dad's bedside drawers! He usually keeps some there in case he wakes up with a headache!" Alice yelled back.

Jasper went into Edward's bedroom, which was decorated simply in shades of navy blue, light blue and cream. He walked over to the bedside drawers and opened the top one. In it, he saw Edward's wedding ring, some earplugs, a few coins, some stamps and a copy of the previous month's Private Eye, but no pills. He opened the second drawer and finally saw the packet of ibuprofen pills. He pulled out one strip and was about to shut the drawer when he spotted a small black and white picture sticking out of a white envelope. Thinking it was a picture of Alice as a foetus, he pulled it out to look at it momentarily. He smiled. _Cute. _But then, he looked at the date. _1__st__ March this year? That's not Alice._ Then he looked at the name at the top. _Isabella Swan? Why does Edward have a picture of Little One?_

"Zippy, my hand's turning to ice!" Alice complained.

"Keep wiggling your fingers under the tap but keep it there as long as you can bear it!"He yelled back. Jasper knew he shouldn't have been snooping, but his curiosity was too piqued. He pulled out the white envelope, which was addressed to Edward and marked 'Private and Confidential, For Addressee only,' but it was open and a letter was visible, dated 8th March.

Jasper pulled out the letter and gasped as he read it.

_Edward, baby,_

_By the time you get this, I'll be on the 2 pm flight back to San Francisco. Staying in London, being so near and yet so far away from you, is proving too painful, and I can't endure it any more. I requested a return to California, and it was granted. _

_I was wrong. That one night was not enough. Now I know what it feels to be in your arms, to have you inside me, what you taste like, how in tune we are, I can't hang around and watch you be with Jessica. You belong to her, and I can accept that, but I just can't witness it anymore. _

_There is just one more thing. I agonised over whether to tell you this, but found myself stuck between a rock and a hard place. If I didn't tell you, you would find out anyway and be devastated that I had kept it from you. But telling you when I'm on the point of leaving also feels cruel. _

_Please don't hate me for this, but I'm pregnant. The child is yours. It seems that, despite years of me using the contraceptive pill with no issue, one of your strong little swimmers managed to get through._

_I have decided to keep the baby. The envelope contains a picture from the ultrasound scan. I'm not asking for anything from you, and please, please don't leave Jessica for me. I couldn't do that to her or Alice. This baby will be raised in a happy, one-parent family and won't know any different, but if you leave Jess now, Alice will be affected for the rest of her life._

_Okay, it's time for me to go. _

_Edward, I will always love you. Don't doubt that, but you aren't mine. Perhaps in another life, I'll get to be the one who meets you first. _

_Your angel, Bella_

Jasper quickly put the letter and the photo back in the envelope, placed it under the ibuprofen box and shut the drawer. _Holy shit. Alice was right about Edward and Bella. She has no idea how right she was._

Jasper returned to the kitchen and gave Alice two ibuprofen pills before taking her hand, drying it very gently with a tea towel and wrapping it in cling film.

"Better?"

"It still hurts, but it's way better than before." She told him before wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you for looking after me." She whispered. Jasper sighed and brought his forehead to rest against hers.

"You know I'd do anything for you, Kid." He replied, pulling her closer. "I love you Alice."

"I love you Jasper." Their eyes met and they felt a very familiar draw to one another.

They were close enough that they could feel each other's warm breaths. Jasper felt powerless to resist any longer and his lips gravitated towards hers. Alice, feeling the pull too, leaned up on her tiptoes to meet his mouth. As their lips met, sparks and zings of delicious sensation ran through them both. They broke apart for a second to breathe before their lips collided again. Just as their mouths started to open, to deepen their kiss, Alice's phone beeped with a text. The noise was enough to interrupt the tension between them and they broke apart.

"That might be Aunt B, finally." Alice whispered.

"Yeah." Jasper mumbled, struggling to speak coherently as lust as well as love coursed through his veins. He let go of her and she reached for her phone.

_Princess, I'll be home in 30 mins. Please pack an overnight bag including your school uniform ASAP. I'll explain all when I get there. Dad xxx_

"That's weird." Alice commented before showing the text to Jasper. "It's been a really off day. From packing up the Hampstead house, to Aunt B not calling, to burning my hand, and now this- it's like there's a bad vibe hanging around."

Jasper was silent, thinking of what he had just found in Edward's bedroom. He agreed with Alice, and started to feel a worried anticipation deep in his gut. He couldn't help but think that Bella not phoning and Edward suddenly telling Alice to pack some things were related, especially now that he knew that Edward and Bella were in love.

"Zippy, what is it?" Alice asked. Jasper, still deep in thought didn't answer straight away, not until Alice tapped him on the arm. "Zips?"

"Sorry, Kid. It's just..." _How do I tell her what I've just found out? Should I tell her? It's not my secret but we promised each other that we'd never hide anything from each other._

"Just...what?" Alice asked. "Zips, you're scaring me."

Jasper led Alice to her bedroom and sat down with her on the end of the bed.

"OK, so I found out something huge, something I'm sure nobody's supposed to know. I don't want to keep it from you, but it's not my secret."

"Does it concern me?"

"Yes, in a way. And I can't help but feel that the weirdness today is related to it. I think it's going to upset you for not being told, but some of it's not going to be a surprise, and..."

"Zippy, please tell me." Alice begged, completely confused as to what he was getting at.

"OK. It's just that I don't want you to get angry about it, because I think it was kept from you for a good reason." Jasper said. He wanted Alice to be happy more than anything, and even though he thought she would be hurt by the news of their affair, a family life with Edward and Bella would restore Alice's inner peace, something which Jessica's desertion had stripped away.

"Jasper, please!" Alice cried.

"OK... you know a few weeks ago, we were talking about how you thought your Aunt Bella and your dad would be good together as a couple?"

"Yes. I still do."

"What if I told you that you were spot on?"

"What do you mean?"

"Edward and Bella. They do have feelings for each other. She loves him."

"What? How do you know?"

"I found a letter from her to him when I was in your dad's bedroom."

"OMG! OMG!" Alice started jumping up and down. "I knew it! Yay!" She twirled round a couple of times in glee, envisioning a happy family life with Edward and Bella and Little One, but then realised that Jasper wasn't smiling. "Zippy?"

"Bubbles, there's more. And this is the bit I'm worried about."

"Tell me!" She sat back down next to him. He pulled her legs across his lap and held her tight.

"OK. They, um..." Jasper closed his eyes as he said the words. "...they were together before the divorce stuff. It was just one night though, not over and over again, like your mum and the Ri-dork-ulous Shitface. She went back to California because she said it was too painful to be around to see him with Jessica, and she didn't want him to leave your mum because she didn't want to disrupt your family life." Jasper explained before taking a deep breath and opening his eyes tentatively.

Alice was stunned. Her eyes were huge with surprise and her face was frozen as she absorbed what Jasper told her.

"Bubbles? Was I wrong to tell you?" Jasper murmured when she didn't say anything. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes, and shook her head. When she looked into his eyes, she knew there was more to the story.

"What else? There's something else isn't there? I can tell, Zips." Jasper nodded. He was incapable of hiding anything from her for very long.

"The baby..."

"Is my brother or sister." Alice finished before letting tears of heartfelt realisation fall from her eyes.

"Yes."

"Show me the letter." Alice said, extracting herself from Jasper's arms.

"Are you sure...?"

"I need to see that letter." Alice said firmly, although she was trembling slightly. Jasper didn't argue with her.

He kissed her on the forehead and showed her to Edward's room, where he pulled out the white envelope from the bottom bedside drawer.

"Here, Bubbs." He pulled out the photo and the letter from the white envelope.

Alice read the letter and stared at the photo. Then she read it again. And again. Finally, she put the letter back in the envelope along with the photo, slid the envelope back where it sat before, and shut the drawer.

"Um, I need to pack. Dad will be here soon." She said as she stood up and wiped her eyes. Jasper followed her.

"Bubbles, talk to me."

"I will, Zips. Just give me a few, 'K?" She said, so engulfed with emotion that she couldn't yet express it.

Jasper sat on the floor of Alice's dressing room and watched as she picked up her purple leather holdall and meticulously packed it as Edward had asked. When she was done, she walked over to Jasper and sat down in between his legs, and rested her head back against his chest. He brought his arms around her tiny waist and she brought hers over his, and they linked fingers. With his lips against her temple, she began to talk.

"It's weird, because I've wanted them to be in love for so long. I've wanted Aunt B to be with my dad and I've want to be Little One's sister, not his cousin. And yet, I hate that I didn't see them falling for each other in the first place. I hate that they've lied to me and kept things from me. But most of all, I hate that Aunt B gave up her happiness, for me."

"You're not mad at them? They had an affair, they lied, they..." Alice shook her head against him.

"No. Well only a little. Do you remember what you said, when I first told you about how I thought Aunt B and Dad should be together? You said that if it's meant to be, like you and me, then they should be together, no matter what. Or something like that."

"I remember, Bubbs." Jasper said quietly.

"Well, Dad loves her. I'm sure of it. The way he looks at her, it's so intense. I get what that means now. He always mumbles 'Angel' in his sleep, which now makes sense because she mentioned it in the letter. He kept the letter and the photo of Little One close to him... he loves her, she loves him. They should be together. So yeah, I'm mad that they lied, but I get why they did it and I already forgive them for it. I just hope that they'll work things out once the divorce comes through."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'll tell him that I'm worried about Aunt Bella and the fact that she hasn't called for sure but other than that, I don't think I'll do anything. We still need to be careful until Dad's divorce comes through."

"Of course, Bubbs. But what about later on?"

"It's totally against my nature but I really am just going to wait and see what they do." Alice told him.

"Really?" He couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. Alice had a tendency to be impatient, which made her want to make things happen.

"Yeah, although if they don't do anything for ages, then after a while, I might have to intervene..."

"There's my girl." Jasper laughed softly and pressed his lips to her neck, where it met her shoulder.

The sound of a key in the door to the penthouse apartment stopped them from going any further. Alice and Jasper extracted themselves from each other and Jasper ducked into Alice's bathroom, which had a door to the main corridor as well as a door to the dressing room. Meanwhile Alice stepped out of the dressing room carrying her holdall, in order to greet Edward.

**End Flashback.**

Despite Edward driving like a demon, it still took three and a half hours for him to drive from Central London to the hospital in Manchester. Esme had phoned Sue to let her know that he was coming, and made sure that they had each other's numbers. Edward was therefore able to text Sue when he arrived at the hospital, and she met him at the doors to the antenatal ward.

"Edward." Sue said simply as he approached. She would have known who he was even if she hadn't been shown pictures by Alice and Esme when they came to visit. He strode in gracefully but urgently, running a hand through his reddish-brown hair, almond-shaped green eyes widening as he took her in. He and Alice had similar shaped eyes and facial features, but also shared a similar presence and charisma, that Sue couldn't fully explain.

"Sue. It's good to meet you finally. I wish it wasn't under these circumstances."

"I agree." She replied. "Shall we?" She buzzed the door to the antenatal unit and looked into the camera. "Sue Swan and Edward Cullen to see Isabella Swan." She said at the beep.

The doors swung open and Edward followed Sue to a side room at the end of a long corridor. She showed him in, and Edward's heart soared briefly as his eyes fell on Bella, but then it fell as he saw that she still wasn't awake.

"Bella." He whispered.

"Guess you must be Edward." A gruff male voice said from the corner of the room, with a strong Mancunian accent. Edward turned to see a man in his late 50s, dressed in a police uniform. He had dark chocolate brown hair that was shot through with silver streaks, a bushy moustache and deep dark brown eyes that fixed upon Edward in an intense and intimidating way.

"Yes sir, Chief Superintendent Swan." Edward replied, deciding it was safest to use Charlie's full title.

"She's been asking for you. It was a bit of a surprise to me as you can imagine, finding out about you and your situation." Charlie replied gruffly. He had been most surprised to find out that the 'Edward' whose name Bella kept mumbling was her secret lover and her ex-brother-in-law.

"Yes sir, it's been very complicated and difficult. I hate that Bella's had to go through such stress, and that I haven't been able to be there for her during the pregnancy."

"Yes, well, you're here now." Sue jumped in, sensing that Charlie was about to interrogate Edward to within an inch of his life. "We will go get a drink and be back in around half an hour, OK? Call if there are any problems."

"I will, of course. Thank you Sue. Thank you sir." Sue nodded and she and Charlie left the room. Edward immediately sat in the chair next to Bella's bedside and picked up her hand.

"Bella, my angel, it's Edward. I'm here my love. I'm here." He brought her soft hand to his lips and kissed it gently, before stroking her hair. His eyes swept over her form. The last time he had seen her, over two months earlier, she had a small bump, but now, her abdomen was very visibly rounded with pregnancy. Bella's bump was attached to a monitor, and Edward could hear the fast thrumming of Little One's heart through the transducer.

"Mmm...baby." She murmured, not opening her eyes. "Edward."

"Bella. My darling. My true love. My angel. Please wake up. I promise, I'm not going anywhere. I love you. Alice loves you. Little One loves you. Charlie, Sue, Esme... we all love you and need you to get better, OK?"

Bella mumbled something and tossed her head around a couple of times before murmuring,

"OK, baby."

-cc-

**AN: So...Alice knows. **

**For the next instalment, add me to alerts, because my posting schedule just blew open. The next post might be Thursday, it might be Saturday, and will definitely happen by Sunday. **

**Updated: The burns advice Jasper uses to treat Alice's hand comes from the recommendations of the UK National Health Service. It might be slightly different from advice given in other countries. Cling film is also known as Saran wrap. Thanks to Judyblue95 for pointing this out! **

**CC **


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Hi everyone! Once again, thank you for your reviews and comments, and huge thanks to those of you who have been recommending this story. It was nominated for an Energize WIP Award today and I am unbelievably chuffed about it! Voting opens on 13****th**** November and closes on 20****th**** November.**

**The Energize WIP awards are at www*energizewipawards*blogspot*com (replace * with .)**

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 16**

As Bella opened her eyes to the early Monday morning sunlight streaming through the hospital window, the first thing she noticed was that the back of her head really, really hurt. The second thing she noticed was the clean, stark smell of hospital and the feel of starched sheets on her skin. The third thing she noticed was warm air softly blowing across her right hand. She glanced down to see a mass of soft-looking reddish-brown hair resting next to it. She slowly moved her hand to touch the hair and gasped. _Edward can't possibly be here. I must be in heaven. No. If I was in heaven, my head wouldn't hurt._

"Mmm...Bella..." The hair spoke as she slipped her hand through the soft auburn tufts.

"Edward?"

He looked up with a start. Bella, despite still feeling a little out of it, couldn't help but smile at the sight of him. He had a crease mark across his face and his hair was plastered to one side of his head where he had slept next to her.

"Angel? You're awake?" He asked, grabbing for her hand. "How do you feel?"

"The back of my head hurts, but I'm OK. What are you doing here? How did you find out? Surely it's too risky for you to be here, or has the divorce come through?" Bella asked in a rush, her face reddening with stress.

"Shh... shh... Bella." He picked up her hand and kissed it softly. "None of that matters. I just had to be here with you." He leant over and pressed his lips to her forehead and then to her mouth.

Suddenly, Little One kicked. Edward gasped at the same time as Bella, for he had seen the movement of the baby's foot against Bella's tummy wall, through the thin hospital blanket.

"Oh!"

"Wow!"

"He always kicks so much more when I'm thinking of you or Alice." Bella explained. "And when I'm upset, it sometimes feels like he's stroking his hand or foot along my side, as if to calm me." Tears started to run down her face. "Like when I miss you and Alice so much it hurts." She added in a whisper.

"My love, you never have to be without us again. I promise."

"But the divorce isn't through yet. Esme said..."

"Screw the divorce. Screw Jessica. Screw contact embargos and post-nuptial agreements and sleazebag lawyers." Edward said defiantly. "Alice and I belong with you and Little One. Nothing else is more important."

Edward covered Bella's hand, which was now resting over her tummy, and they linked fingers. Bella scooted herself to the far edge of the bed, and he got in next to her, ignoring all the notices around the room forbidding visitors to do so. He wrapped his free hand around her shoulders and she curled into his chest, soothed by the steady _lub-dub_ of his heartbeat. Edward was equally soothed by Bella's warmth against him and the occasional kicks of Little One against their joined hands as he entertained himself inside Bella's womb. Soon they both fell asleep in each other's arms.

-cc-

Laurent had spent several hours trying to find a way into the antenatal ward. He knew that it was dangerous to go looking for Bella Swan when she had recognised him but he needed to get the money shot, proof that they were together. One thing that made him a good PI was his relentlessness. He never let go of a subject until the client asked him to. The midwives and nurses were militant about the safety of the expectant mothers, and only allowed family onto the ward. He had tried to find a fire exit or back door, but discovered that the only other way to get into the antenatal ward was through the labour and delivery ward, which was even more closely guarded.

Finally, Laurent decided that he would need to go incognito. When he first moved to England, he worked in a hospital as a cleaner for a couple of months, so had some understanding of how things worked. He therefore hung around by the back entrance to the hospital, hoping to spot an agency nurse, porter or cleaner, contracted to work in the hospital for just one shift to cover staff sickness or shortages. After about an hour, a tired, overweight man in his early forties, dressed in an ill-fitting agency tunic and trousers, approached the door.

"Excuse-me?" He murmured. He looked startled, not used to being noticed.

"Um, yes?"

"How would you like to make £250 for having a day off?"

Five minutes and five £50 notes later, Laurent was in possession of the agency worker's name badge, which he managed to alter quite easily with some plastic, some glue and a photo of himself. Laurent managed to procure a pair of scrubs and empty cage cart from the operating theatres, and made his way to the antenatal ward, where he pressed the buzzer.

"Yes?"

"Allo, I am ze agency porter. I come to collect ze clinical waste." He held his fake badge to the camera.

"OK, come in."

The doors swung open and Laurent walked in.

"The clinical waste is in the sluice room at the bottom of the corridor." The ward clerk said. "If we're not here when you're ready to leave, it's because we'll be handing over to the day team in the staff room, so just press the button on the side of the door to let yourself out."

"Thank you." Laurent replied politely. He slowly made his way down to the sluice room, but not before reading the whiteboard with the patients' names on it. _Swan I. Room 24_. Laurent went into the sluice and loaded the waste bags onto the trolley, and then pushed the trolley back out. He parked it outside the door to room 24, and glanced in through the small window.

If Laurent was the sort of person who did happy dances, he would have done one then and there, because through that small window, he could see, quite clearly, Edward Cullen and Isabella Swan, asleep in each other's arms, their hands linked over her baby bump. He had never seen two people look so much like they belonged together. A photo of them like this would be very incriminating. The ward was starting to become noisier as the patients woke up. He didn't have much time. He took out his mobile phone, opened up the camera and gently pushed open the door to Room 24. He took two pictures of the sleeping pair and then backed out and pushed the trolley out of the ward.

-cc-

Once Esme realised that Sue knew all about Bella and Edward's relationship, thanks to the conversation Sue had overheard between herself and Bella when the Cullens came to visit several weeks earlier, she decided that it would be best to share all the information she had about James Hunter and Laurent Fouré.

When Sue saw the picture of Laurent in her email that morning, it triggered some memory inside her. An African man with short dreads, moving away from Bella as other bystanders moved towards her, jumped into her mind. _He was there when she fell? Or am I making that up?_

"What are you looking at, love, that's got you so intrigued?" Charlie asked as he came downstairs for breakfast. He looked at the picture of Laurent on her laptop. "Who's that?"

"He's a PI that is associated with Bella's sister's lawyer. Esme thinks he and Jessica's lawyer are suspicious that Bella and Edward are together."

"She thinks he may have come up here?"

"She isn't sure, but I think I may have seen him leaving the supermarket yesterday morning just after Bella fell down."

"Do you think he was responsible?" Charlie's voice went up an octave at the thought of his daughter being hurt deliberately.

"No. I definitely saw her trip backwards. But Esme sent this information to her as well. I wonder if she recognised him, got startled and that's why she stumbled."

"Hmm... I think I'll call into base and ask them to gather some information from the Metropolitan Police."

Charlie did just that, and by the time he and Sue arrived at the hospital to see Bella an hour later, he had Laurent's entire record as an email on his Blackberry. He had also got a couple of his men to go down to the supermarket to look at their CCTV. They weren't allowed into the ward straight away because only partners were allowed to stay on the ward 24/7. Everyone else had to wait until first visiting hours at 10am. Therefore Sue and Charlie sat in the waiting area outside the antenatal area. Charlie was trying to read the newspaper while Sue was trying to read a magazine but both were distracted by thoughts of Bella, hoping that she would be awake when they went in to see her.

Charlie was about to nudge Sue to show her an article he was reading when he looked up to see a tall, loping African man, dressed in scrubs and carrying a small rucksack, waiting for the lift to arrive.

"Sue love," he whispered. "Look at that guy by the lifts and tell me if you think he looks familiar." Sue looked up and breathed in sharply. She nodded. "The guy from Esme's picture?" She nodded again.

"What...?"

"I'm going to go over there and get on the radio, see which of my men are in the vicinity."

"OK." Sue agreed quietly.

Charlie got up and walked to the opposite side of the large waiting area from the lifts, and ducked into the stairwell. He quickly radioed back to base and informed them that there was a suspicious character hanging around the antenatal ward, before giving a description. A couple of minutes later, Charlie went over to the large window overlooking the hospital's main entrance and saw two of his men, who had happened to be in the coffee shop on the hospital's ground floor, walking towards his suspect as he approached his car.

Laurent was so caught up in texting James and sending him the photographs of Edward and Bella asleep together that he didn't see the two police officers until they were on either side of him.

"Something interesting on your phone, sir?" One of the officers asked.

"Aah... I am just texting to a friend." Laurent replied, trying to keep his cool.

"We've had some reports of a suspicious male hanging around on the maternity floor. Fits your description." The other said.

"It is not me. I work here." Laurent replied, showing him the agency badge.

"May I see that?" The first police officer asked, snatching the badge out of Laurent's hand. He quickly found the plastic edge and pulled it apart to reveal the real photograph of the agency worker underneath. "Funny, this doesn't look much like you."

"Do you have a driver's licence or a passport with your actual name on it? In the car perhaps?"

"Um..."

Laurent was bricking himself. He did have ID inside the car, but he also had two kilograms of top quality cannabis, which had been a freebie from his friend Felix, a big-time dealer in Manchester. Felix, currently in hiding at his mistress's house, needed to get out of town and had given Laurent the drugs in exchange for taking him to London when he was done trailing Bella Swan. Laurent had smoked some earlier and the car reeked of it. Worse still, Laurent had put half of it into little baggies, ready to give to his friends. If the police found him with such a large amount of skunk in bags, he could be done for drug dealing himself.

Unfortunately for Laurent, the police officers, pissed at having their coffee break interrupted, decided that his hesitation was grounds to search his car anyway. It took them less than a minute to find the cannabis, and less than two to arrest him for intent to deal a class B substance. They also arrested him for impersonating a healthcare worker and trespassing on National Health Service property.

_At least James now has the photograph. With his commission from Jessica Cullen, he can bail me out._

-cc-

James was ecstatic. The photograph of Edward and Bella was exactly the evidence he needed to go to halt the divorce. He left his apartment, where Victoria was in his bed, sleeping off her come-down from the cocaine binge they'd both put away the night before, and went to his office.

Riley was waiting for him when he got in, nervously yanking at his greasy fair hair.

"Boss, I got something for you from Esme Cullen's answering machine." He said as he followed James into his office. He played the message Sue had left.

"_Hello Esme, this is Sue Swan here. It's 2pm on Sunday. I'm calling because Bella's been rushed into hospital with a head injury. We're waiting to find out how she is. I've tried your house phone and mobile too. Please could you call me back as soon as you get this? Bella's asking for Edward and Alice. I think that they should be here. "_

It was all James could do to stop himself from whooping with joy. In his cocaine-addled mind, the message was enough to go down to the courthouse and stop the divorce. He didn't care that it didn't explicitly state the relationship between Edward and Bella.

"Riley, today's going to be a great day!" He exclaimed. "You can count on getting a raise. Mrs Evenson and I both agree that you deserve one." Riley's eyes lit up at the mention of Victoria.

"Really? Mrs Evenson said that?" _Yes, but don't think that means you're going to be fucking her any time soon. She's mine._

"Yep. Now, be a good lad and send Bree in here. Off you go." As Riley scuttled away, James fired up his computer to email Jessica. He intended to go down to the court to stop the divorce from going through regardless of whether he could get hold of her or not, and was sure that Jessica would be on the first plane back to London when she saw the photograph of Edward and Bella to claim her assets.

There was a tentative knock on his door and Bree popped her head round.

"Hello sir, you wanted to see me?" She asked timidly.

"Yes, come in. I have some things to show you."

James pulled up the photograph on his phone and played her Sue's voicemail.

"You got some evidence?"

"Yes. With these and the copy of Edward Cullen's will that you brought me, we'll be able to stall the divorce long enough to get more proof about their relationship, see that Jessica Cullen gets her £5 million, and that we get our commission."

"That's excellent sir!" Bree replied, smiling at her boss.

"I couldn't have got it without you. I promised to reward you didn't I?"

"Yes, sir." She said, cheeks colouring.

"Well, I need to go to the court to stop the decree absolute from going through, and I'd like you to come with me. After we've done that, I'm going to take you to lunch, and we can spend the rest of the day..." He looked her up and down and licked his lips. "... getting better acquainted." _Taking her virgin pussy will be really rather sweet. Victoria might like to play with her too._

"That would be wonderful sir!" Bree exclaimed.

"I'm glad you agree. Now I have a few emails to send before we go, so go fetch me a cup of coffee and be ready to leave at 10 o'clock."

"Of course."

Bree smiled at him once more and checked her watch before departing. James waited for his office door to close before he pulled out his Snow Kit and helped himself to an extra chubby line of coke. He then emailed Jessica. Laurent, just before leaving for Manchester, had got him a kilo of Columbia's finest, purest snow and it was sitting in his bottom drawer, begging to be inhaled. _It's a great day. A great day deserves great cocaine._

By 10 o'clock, James had sent an email to Jessica and ordered a new, very expensive watch online. He had also had another line of snow, deciding to treat himself again before heading out to court. He got up, put on his suit jacket and was about to leave his office when the door swung open.

"James Cameron Hunter?" Two big burly policemen were at the door, one holding a huge German Shepherd dog that was straining at the leash.

"Yes officers? What's this all about? I'm afraid I have to get to court..."

"We have a warrant to search your premises." A warrant notice was thrust at him.

"On what grounds?" James huffed.

"We have reason to believe that you are in possession of a large quantity of Class A illegal drugs with the intent to supply to others."

"What! No way!" _Shit. Fucking big shit!_

"Really? So you didn't supply Victoria Evenson the cocaine that we found on her in your apartment just thirty minutes ago?"

"No!" James retorted, but was fully aware that the police officers didn't believe his lie for a second.

"Sir, step out of the way, or Bingo here will make you." The officers glanced at the dog, which was baring its teeth. James duly stepped aside and watched helplessly as the dog made a beeline for his bottom drawer, put his paw on it and started barking his head off.

"Bingo, good boy, what have you found?" It took the officer seconds to find the cocaine, and James's Snow Kit. "Well, well, well... Bingo's found Bingo."

"James Cameron Hunter, I am arresting you for possession with intent to supply a Class A drug. You do not have to say anything but..."

As James was led away to the police van, and the rest of the premises were searched, Riley rushed over to Bree to find out what was going on. She had heard everything.

"What the fuck? Why's the boss been arrested?"

"Drugs." She answered simply. Riley turned to look at her sharply. "He and Victoria Evenson both."

"No way! Not Victoria! She's, like, perfect!"

"You're such a fucking idiot, Riley. She and James Hunter are total cokeheads, and have been screwing for years. Even her hubby knows, not that he cares about anything but his bottle of Chivas."

"No!"

"Yes." She pulled up a picture on her phone of James and Victoria shagging on James's desk, one she'd acquired two weeks earlier, just after her return to Hunter and Evenson from working at Cullen and Associates.

"Fuck. Why was always flirting with me?"

"So you'd be her little lapdog, and do whatever she and James wanted."

"Man, that sucks. Wait, I thought you liked the boss. That you _really_ liked the boss."

"I did, until I wised up. He's scum, and so are all his clients." Bree replied, remembering the heartbreak she'd felt when she realised that James was using her and that he was actually with Victoria. _Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. _"I'm taking the day off. I think we'd better start looking for new jobs, don't you?"

Bree left Riley behind and walked out of Hunter and Evenson. As she walked towards the bus stop, she felt someone's presence behind her.

"Bree."

"Mr Jenks." She said before turning round. He motioned for her to follow him into a cafe.

"You did well, Bree." They sat down at a table where he slid an envelope with £500 inside towards her. "Thank you."

"It's OK. Once I realised what a shit he was, I was happy to help. Thanks for showing me, by the way. I can't believe I was so stupid."

"You're only twenty. He was no doubt charming, attractive and flirted with you to get you to bend to his will. I did feel bad about showing you that picture and breaking your heart a little bit."

"Believe me, I needed to hear it."

"Well, you've been invaluable. We wouldn't have been able to secure his arrest without you." Bree shrugged.

"I just wish we could have called the police in sooner but Laurent had to drop off that big package of coke before they could do anything. If I had got to them earlier I could have prevented James from getting that picture of Edward Cullen and Jessica Cullen's sister." She said as she pushed the envelope back towards him. "Look, I don't want the money."

"No? What do you want?"

"A new start. Ideally a job with Esme Cullen. Working at Cullen and Associates was amazing. They're all such great people. Do you think that would be possible? Do you think she'll forgive me for trying to spy on her and stealing a copy of Edward Cullen's will?"

"I think you'll find that the Cullens can be very forgiving when they want to be." Jenks smiled.

-cc-

"Ahem."

Neither Bella nor Edward stirred from their slumber.

"Excuse me."

Edward merely drew Bella closer to him.

"Hey!" The nurse was done being gentle and shook Edward.

"What the..." he woke with a start.

"You're not supposed to be in the bed too!" She hissed. "It's an infection risk!"

"Oh, come on! We were just sleeping! Please?"

"Don't even bother with the puppy dog eyes. I have three brothers, a husband and four sons. Get."

Edward reluctantly slid out of the bed.

"No baby, don't go!" Bella mumbled. "Edward, please..."

"I'm right here, my love. I'm not going anywhere."

Bella slowly opened her eyes to see the portly nurse move towards her with a torch. She sat bolt upright, causing her head to throb.

"Ouch. What are you doing?"

"I just have to check your vitals, Miss Swan. If they are OK and the doctors are happy that you're alert enough to go home, we'll let you go."

"Can't I just go now? I'm fine, apart from a headache, which is a lot less painful than a few hours ago."

"The doctors will be round in fifteen minutes. I brought you some breakfast." The nurse replied, ignoring Bella's plea. She placed a bowl of grey-looking porridge and a cup of lukewarm tea on the tray table. "Your parents are outside. I can send them into visit, but no more than two in the room at a time, including him." She said, pointing at Edward before leaving.

"She really doesn't like you, baby." Bella commented once the nurse had shut the door.

"I know!" Edward laughed. "Good morning, angel." He bent down to kiss her lips.

"Good morning." She replied. "I can't believe you're here." She tilted her head upwards, searching for another kiss. Edward gladly obliged.

One kiss turned into two. Two turned into four, and soon, Bella was out of bed and sat on Edward's lap, her hands tugging at his hair, feeling the pain in her head ebb away with every stroke of Edward's tongue against hers and every caress of his hand against her tummy.

"I missed you... so... much... love you... so... much... both...of you..." Edward panted in between kisses.

"Me too... me... too..."

The opening of the door interrupted them. It was probably a good thing. Their hormones were going into overdrive; they were seconds away from ripping each other's clothes off.

"Oh, Baby Girl! I guess you're feeling better!" Sue exclaimed as she took in the site of her beloved stepdaughter, dressed in a hospital gown, on Edward's lap, looking flushed but happier and more radiant than she'd ever seen her.

Charlie was less thrilled to see his daughter making out with the man that had, not six months ago, been her brother-in-law. He was very wary of Edward. He couldn't help but be sceptical about this man who was moving from one sister to another. However, even he couldn't deny the glow that Bella was emitting and the look of love and utter infatuation that Edward held on his face.

"I want to go home. I've barely got a headache anymore and I just want to sleep in my own bed and eat something decent." As if on cue, Bella's stomach rumbled loudly. Grey porridge was just not going to cut it.

"Soon, angel. Soon." Edward kissed her one more time before easing her off his lap. "I'm just going to find a loo, text Alice and Esme and find you a decent breakfast. I'll be back in ten minutes, OK?"

"Promise?" Bella asked, something she'd never asked him before. She was finally allowing herself to think of Edward as hers.

"I promise. I love you Bella."

"I love you too."

-cc-

Alice really did not want to be in school that Monday morning. Edward had texted her when he arrived in Manchester to tell her he had arrived, but that Bella was still not awake. As a result she had spent the night before tossing and turning in Rosalie's old room at Esme and Carlisle's house, worrying about her, as well as worrying about the baby, Edward and the future. Eventually she had woken up at 5.30am. Jasper, unable to sleep himself because he was worrying about her, got up when he heard her sneak downstairs and the two of them huddled together in the TV room until the sound of Esme and Carlisle waking forced them to separate.

As much as she wanted a family life with Bella and Little One around all the time, Alice couldn't help but fret over the possibility that once Little One was born, she was going to be pushed aside and ignored. For as long as she could remember, she had been the centre of Edward's universe. Was there going to be room for her when the baby came along? Where were they going to live? Would Bella still have time for her? Would Edward still love her as much? Yet the thought of Bella and Little One _not_ being there was so much worse. She wanted to see them again so much it hurt.

By lunchtime, Alice was seriously considering ditching school for the afternoon, but she didn't know what she would do or where she would go. It was a rare dry sunny day and her classmates were all congregating on the benches that surrounded the playground. Alice didn't really like sun-she didn't tan well and detested being too hot- so she holed up in a quiet corner the library with her battered copy of To Kill A Mockingbird and the turkey pastrami and salad bagel Esme had made her for lunch, trying to relax.

Alice was just getting to her favourite part of the book, the trial of Tom Robinson, when her phone beeped with a text. Her heart thudded loudly in her ears when she saw that it was from Bella.

_Alice, I'm OK sweetie. I'm back at home now. Finally! I have a bit of a headache but I'm fine, and so is Little One. I guess you have a lot of questions. Your dad and I are going to call tonight. Love you xxx_

It was quickly followed by a text from Edward.

_Hey princess. Bella's home. She and the baby are fine. I'm going to stay for a couple of days & will be back Wednesday afternoon. We'll call you tonight. Love you Alice xxx_

Alice felt most of her worry disappear at the news that Bella was all right. She also felt somewhat reassured that both of them told her they loved her. She hoped that they would all be a happy family, but she was still plagued by insecurities. _Mum doesn't want me anymore. What happens when Little One arrives? How will they have enough love for me and the baby? Dad and Bella probably won't want me either._

-cc-

"That's excellent news, Jenks. Is Bree still with you?" Esme asked, dancing on the spot with joy.

"_No. She's gone. But I can call or text her."_

"Tell her to turn up at 9am tomorrow and I'll talk to her about a job in the typing pool. Of course, she'll have to have a year's probationary period."

"_Will do, Mrs C. There is just one other thing."_

"Yes?"

"_My contacts at the court tell me that the divorce office is ahead of schedule. The decree absolute should be here by Friday."_

"Fantastic!" Esme exclaimed. She was delighted.

Everything was falling into place.

Laurent Fouré and James Hunter had been arrested and would be unlikely to get out on bail in time to influence the issue of the final divorce papers. Sue and Charlie had told Esme that Laurent was being further investigated for his connections to the drugs baron Charlie was trying to capture. He was also being held on a stalking charge after being seen at the hospital, on the supermarket CCTV and the CCTV at Clear Swan Deli-Cafe. Bella was better, and had been discharged home. Edward sounded truly happy for the first time in far too long. _As long as Jessica stays away for another four days, everything will work out the way it's supposed to._

_-cc-_

**Aha, but will Jessica stay away? **

**Please let me know what you think. **

**Next chapter should be posted on Sunday. **


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Hi everyone and thank you so much for all your reviews! I've replied to as many as I can, and to the rest of you I am sending much love via the WWW.**

**So this chapter marks the return of Jessica... I have loved reading the theories about where she's gone and what she's been up to!**

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 17**

It had been two days since Bella was discharged from hospital. Edward had stayed with her, but was now heading back to London. He needed to get back to Alice. Bella, although she was much better, was advised by the doctors to take it easy for the week, so she was not going with him. She had protested, but Edward, Charlie and Sue had insisted.

"Alice and I will be back here on Saturday afternoon, angel. We'll hit the road as soon as her morning dance rehearsals are over." Edward told her, as she watched him shave, her big brown eyes meeting his via the bathroom mirror. "You know I don't want to leave you."

Bella sighed and moved to stand next to him. She was wearing his shirt and nothing else, the buttons done up over the bust but not her rounded abdomen. She wasn't giving it back. He didn't want her to.

"I know, baby." She sighed. "I guess I've been spoiled, having you to myself for two whole days and nights. It's the longest I've ever spent with you in one stretch."

"Soon, you're going to be sick of us. We'll be with you all the time. You won't be able to get rid of us." He told her.

"I could never be sick of you. I don't feel complete unless I'm with you and Alice."

Edward put his razor down and turned to face her. He cupped her face in his hands.

"I love you." He leaned to kiss her but ended up smearing her with shaving foam before their lips could meet.

"Yuck! I love you too, but not the taste of shaving foam!" She laughed. Bella picked up the razor. "Would you let me finish you off?" She asked huskily, biting her lip at her double entendre. Edward glanced at his wakening groin before nodding enthusiastically. "Good. Now sit for me." He duly flipped the loo seat down and sat on it.

Bella slowly scraped the razor up Edward's chin before rinsing it off. She repeated her action several times over the rest of his face, her eyes never leaving his. Her bare thighs brushed his. Occasionally her baby bump nudged his tummy. Her loose long locks tickled his bare shoulders as she leant over him. He found her actions incredibly sexy.

"All done." She said after the last scrape. "And no nicks!"

"So now can I kiss you?" He asked, taking the razor from her hands and flinging it in the sink. He then drew her closer to him. He kissed her hands and ran his hands over her big bump. Little One nudged him back in response.

"Hello, Little One. Are you behaving yourself in there?" The baby kicked, his little foot making contact with Edward's hand. Bella giggled. "Good. Mummy and I are going to be a little bit naughty now. Don't mind us!"

"A little bit naughty? Really?" Bella asked coquettishly.

"Yes. I'm sure you knew it the moment you offered to shave me, my love! So sexy!" He replied, He then stood up, kissed her lips and took her hand. He led her into the bedroom next door and she lay down on the bed. Edward ditched the towel from around his waist, while Bella removed his shirt from her body. He crawled up over her and came to lie at her side.

"Edward, I need you, baby." She whispered. He replied by licking and sucking her earlobe, something he knew turned her on. His hands moved to her now-huge breasts. Bella gasped as Edward rolled her sensitive nipples between his cool fingers and she was flooded with delicious excitement. "Please, please..."

"Please what, angel?" He asked, as his lips found the soft slope of her tit. "What would you like?" Bella turned on her side. Edward mirrored her action and broke away from her skin to look up.

"I want to taste you, baby. And then I want you to fuck me." If Edward thought he was hard before, Bella's words made his dick as rigid as granite.

"If you're sure, then yes please!"

Bella gently pushed him back and manoeuvred herself around to place her lips around the head of his cock. She slowly slid him in until he hit the back of her throat and sucked and sucked. She then slid him in and out, and used her tongue to tease the underside of his hard member. Edward's eyes rolled back in his head with pleasure and as he started writhing with ecstasy, he became aware of the most delectable aroma. Bella's arousal. Without thinking he drew her closer and angled himself so that he could taste her juices. Bella moaned around his cock as he flicked her clit and then delved deeper, seeking her hot, tight pussy.

The constant attention to her throbbing clitoris and her hyper-sensitive entrance was too much for Bella. She came with his cock still deep inside her mouth; the vibrations of her moans and the feeling of her walls clamping around his tongue drew him very close to coming himself.

"Bella love, I'm so close..." He began, tearing himself away from her delicious centre. Bella let him go instantly and he lay back, knowing instinctively what she was planning to do.

Bella climbed on top of him and impaled herself on his hard member.

"Oh, Edward!" She cried.

"Bella my love! My angel!" She leaned forward as much as the baby bump would allow her and continued rocking her hips into his. Edward was able to take one of her enlarged nipples into his mouth, and snuck his hand down to her clit, determined that she have at least one more orgasm before he had to leave her. He hardly needed to, for Bella was pretty much already there, and with just one pass of his hand against her sensitive nub, Bella exploded, screaming his name.

"Edward, Edward, Edward, Edward!" she chanted, speeding up the movements of her hips to draw out the orgasm further. The extra stimulation tipped him over the edge and he came too, depositing his seed inside her in hot spurts. She rolled off him. He sat up and pulled her back into his arms, so that his chest was touching her back.

"I love you so much. Bella." He sighed, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her neck. "I wish I could have been here for you more than I have. I wish..."

"Don't. Everything happens for a reason, Edward. I truly believe that. If things had been different, there would be no Alice and I can't imagine a world without her. I love you, and I love her and I love that we're going to get our 'HEA', as she puts it."

"God, how am I going to leave you? I have to get back for Alice but even being an inch apart is too far right now." Edward whispered, peppering her shoulders and upper back with kisses.

"So don't." Bella replied. She turned around in his lap. "I'm going to come back to London with you."

"Bella, love, you can't. The doctors..."

"I don't care. You don't want to be apart from me. I don't want to be apart from you. I'm desperate to see Alice. You're driving back so if I don't feel well we can stop, but honestly, baby, I feel great now. You said it yourself. I belong with you."

Edward looked at his beautiful, flushed, glowing Bella. _How can I deny her anything?_

"You're so stubborn!" He laughed. "OK, my angel. Just be prepared to protect me from Sue and Charlie when they try to kick my ass. Why don't we clean up, and I'll help you pack?"

"Good answer!" Bella rewarded him by giving him a deep searching kiss.

-cc-

Jessica thought that she had it made. She was living the high life in California, having her bills paid, being waited on hand and foot. She had thrown herself into life in Carmel. She told Luisa, the housekeeper, to put the phone down on any man with an English accent, not wanting interference from Mike or even James. She exercised for three hours a day, including yoga, determined to streamline her already trim figure. She stopped eating carbs and drinking caffeine. She decided that the sacrifice was worth it to secure her prize.

_Philip Dwyer._

Jessica glanced out of the window to see her stepfather, who was just seven years her senior, pulling himself out of the swimming pool. He was around 6 foot tall, with a stocky, muscular body and sandy coloured hair. He was good looking, rich and chivalrous. The Californian millionaire that she desperately wanted.

As it happened, Renee was going through a very busy patch at work. Renee had taken up yoga when she first moved to California, twenty-six years earlier, and had been an instructor for twenty-four of those. She had invested in Phil's first restaurant just after they got married twenty years ago. After five years, when he had four very profitable restaurants, he in turn helped her open her own yoga studio. The studio took off and was about to be expanded to do residential retreats. As well as planning for the expansion, she found herself needing more instructors, which were hard to come by. Renee therefore had to go away for two weeks in rainy, cold Washington State to attend a yoga instructors' workshop, in order to recruit the best instructors available.

Jessica had taken advantage of Renee's absence by spending as much time as possible with Phil. She could be very charming when she wanted to be, and very attractive- she had seduced Mike and other men before him quite easily. The hardest she'd ever had to work for a man was when she decided she wanted Edward, as he had been very shy and hadn't recognised her advances at first. She was now finding it quite easy to play the wronged, reluctant divorcee to her unwitting stepfather.

Phil found Jessica engaging and funny, and took her sightseeing all over North California. Whenever he went on business trips, to see how his restaurants were doing, or to meet potential investors, he would take her with him. With her crisp British accent and charm, she had helped him secure a major backer for his expanding restaurant chain, the Chief Financial Officer of a major Silicon Valley software company. He had been very grateful, and had bought her a bracelet from Tiffany's as a thank you.

Despite Phil's keenness to spend time with her, Jessica's plan to seduce her mother's husband was failing miserably. It seemed that Phil was still totally into Renee. He talked about her genuinely, lovingly and non-stop. Jessica had tried every trick in the book short of actually coming onto him or launching herself into his lap but he still hadn't got the hint. Renee was due back in a few days and Jessica was getting desperate. She was holding onto the hope that he felt an attraction towards her but was resisting it because of his wife.

After making an extra large, extra strong pitcher of margaritas, she suggested a game of pool to Phil, who loved the game and was more than happy to oblige her.

"I just don't know what I'm doing wrong!" Jessica pouted as she missed a shot for the fourth time. It was on purpose, part of her seduction plan.

"You just need to make your bridge higher, Jess, and angle the cue more."

"Show me?"

Alcohol had clouded Phil's better judgement. He should have taken the cue from her and demonstrated what he meant. Instead he came up behind her and covered her hands with his. She took advantage of the moment and wriggled her ass against his groin.

"Uh..." She did it again. Phil's body, missing Renee's attentions, reacted to the pressure. "Shit."

"What?" Jessica asked pseudo-innocently before turning around so that she was almost lying on the pool table facing him. He tried to stand up straight but Jessica wrapped her legs around him and used them to draw her towards him.

"Phil, Phil, Phil. My mother's a lucky woman." She said, looking at him with hooded eyes. She really did want to fuck him.

"I'm the lucky one. Jess, we can't..."

"Yes we can. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. I know you want me. You've been flirting with me, spending time with me, taking me places, checking me out in my bikini, buying me jewellery..."

"Jess, you've got it wrong. I was just trying to get to know my stepdaughter better. And the bracelet was just a thank you for charming Marcus Volturi! I'm sorry if you got the wrong idea."

"I don't think I have." She unbuttoned her blouse to reveal a leopard-skin print bra. "You want me. So come take me."

"Jesus Christ Jessica. I said no! I love Renee!"

"But..."

I do believe that Phil said he loved me, Jessica Jane." Renee stepped out of the shadows.

"Mum! What are you doing here?" Jessica scrambled to get off the pool table. "I thought you were in Washington for another three days!"

"I was missing my husband and daughter, so I thought I'd come home a few days early. More fool me." Renee replied, green eyes blazing.

"Renee, it's not what it looks like! She came onto me!" Phil cried. "I love you. Only you."

"I know, Philly. I saw and heard everything. Go find Luisa, and tell her that Jessica will be leaving. She can start the packing." Phil did exactly as he was told.

"Mum! You're kicking me out? You're choosing your husband over your daughter?"

"Yes. You came here, seeking comfort and shelter, and I provided it. And this is how you repay me? By trying to seduce my husband? Bella was right! You _are_ selfish. You really do only care about yourself!"

"Well, she also called you selfish! I learned from the best! Quite frankly, letting me have your husband is the least you could do! It's not like you even deserve to be called a mother! Where were you throughout my childhood? Where were you when my father was dying? When Alice was born? You were here, living it up!"

"Yeah, well, I can't turn the clock back. But I can and I am kicking you out! Don't even think about coming back!"

-cc-

The next day, Jessica was at the airport, waiting for her flight back to London. She had wanted to stick around but she had nowhere to stay. She had thought about going to see Bella and ask to stay with her in Berkeley but in order to do that, Jessica knew that she would have to apologise to both Bella and to Alice, and Jessica was not prepared to do either. She had found it remarkably freeing to not have the responsibility of motherhood anymore, and she still resented Alice for choosing Edward over her, despite her indiscretions with Mike. And she most definitely was not prepared to apologise to her little sister; that would mean acknowledging that Bella was right.

Jessica was grateful that she had got Mike to buy her the open return business class ticket. It meant that she didn't have to sit in the main departure lounge with the hoi-polloi. Instead she was in the business class lounge, enjoying a glass of champagne whilst she caught up with her email at the internet terminals. She had been checking her inbox periodically but ignoring most of the emails, especially the ones from Mike telling her that he missed her, and James asking her to get in touch. On this occasion, however, James had sent her one a couple of days before which caught her eye.

_To: Jessica Jane Cullen_

_From: James Hunter_

_Subject: BREAKTHROUGH!_

_Jessica_

_I don't know or care why you've been ignoring my emails. I just thought I would let you know that I have enough evidence to block your decree absolute from going through. _

_You didn't think it was a possibility that Edward was involved with your sister. I think the picture below might change your mind. I'm sure you will agree that it looks very much like they're together. We also have a voicemail recording and a copy of Edward's new will, which together with the photograph are enough evidence to take to court. Regardless of whether or not you reply, I'm heading down to the courthouse today. _

_Call me as soon as you get this. Oh, and get your ass back to London, unless you want five million pounds to go to Isabella._

_James_

Jessica stared at the photo over and over again. Edward in a hospital bed with Bella, the pair of them asleep, curled into each other. His lips pressed to her hair. Their hands joined over Bella's pregnant abdomen. _Bella's pregnant. That could be Edward's baby. She was so righteous and holier-than-thou about my actions, and yet she's been fucking my husband! THAT BITCH!_

Suddenly Jessica couldn't get home fast enough.

-cc-

Alice couldn't wait to get home that afternoon. She had missed her father terribly and had been disappointed that he was not bringing Bella back with him, for she wanted to see her too. So when Edward left her a voicemail to say that Bella had come with him to London after all, she was on top of the world. She had spoken to both of them since Bella's discharge from hospital, and she had told them that she knew that they were involved, but they all agreed that they didn't want to discuss details or the future until they were all together.

"Dad, Aunt Bella?" She asked as she walked in the front door with her school bag and holdall.

"Alice!" Bella cried as she ran out of the kitchen as fast as she could manage. Alice hugged her fiercely.

"You're OK! I'm so happy you're OK and that you're here!"

"I'm all better sweetie, I promise."

"How long are you here for?"

Bella glanced behind her, where Edward was standing. He came forward, placed his hand on Bella's shoulder and answered for them both.

"Indefinitely."

"Yay! YAY!" Alice jumped up and down and hugged them both. "And you're definitely together?"

Edward picked up Bella's hand and kissed it.

"Yes we are. Now we're all here we should talk about it." Edward said. "Firstly, how do you know? We tried to be so discreet. And what exactly do you know?" Edward asked Alice. They all went to sit down on the sofa.

"Let's just say I've had my suspicions for a while, since our sleepover. But when I burnt my hand on Sunday..." Alice decided to leave out the fact that it was Jasper who found the letter. "...I went hunting in your bedroom for some ibuprofen and found a letter from Aunt B to you, Dad."

"The letter I wrote to you telling you I was pregnant?" Bella asked Edward. "You didn't get rid of it?"

"I couldn't part with it, angel." Edward replied. "But I thought I'd kept it safe. It was hidden in my bottom drawer."

"Doesn't matter." Bella smiled briefly at him before turning to Alice. "Sweetie, I'm sorry we kept things from you. We're sure you have questions, so fire away."

Alice wasn't sure where to begin at first.

"So you and Dad are genuinely in love? Or is it just a sexual thing?" Alice decided to start boldly. Bella wasn't particularly fazed, but Edward was rather taken aback.

"Alice..." He began, very uncomfortable.

"It's OK, Edward." Bella gripped his hand again to soothe him. "Yes, we're in love. I fell for your father the moment I laid eyes on him, Alice, when I was sixteen. But he was marrying your mother and I was just her gawky, geeky little half-sister who she hardly ever saw. We barely met that day."

"I'm ashamed to admit I don't remember meeting Bella at all." Edward said, casting his eyes downward.

"It's OK, baby." Bella told him. "It was when I came back to London last year and we met again, that we felt an intense attraction."

"We tried to resist it for a long time, princess, for months."

"That was why you always tried to avoid her." Alice realised. "Mum thought you didn't like Aunt B."

"Yes. Despite that, there came a point when we couldn't deny how we felt." Edward told her. "I'm not proud of how it happened, but eventually we did, uh, get together."

"We never meant to hurt anyone. We thought that if we just had a night together, we would get our attraction out of our systems. However, that one night just served to show us how much we had in common and how strongly we felt about each other. I know it's hard but do you think you can understand what we mean, Alice?"

Alice could and did understand. The strength of feelings Bella and Edward had described was exactly how she felt about Jasper. One day, she would remind them of this conversation.

"I understand. That night actually made it so much harder, didn't it? That's what the letter implied."

"Yes. I didn't want to break up your home. I didn't want to take your father away from you and Jessica. It became too stressful, especially after I found out about Little One, so I decided that the best thing was to go back to California."

"But I would have been OK with it! You and Dad make so much more sense than Mum and Dad ever did."

"You say that now Alice, with the benefit of hindsight. If you had found out about us suddenly, that we'd had an affair, that I, your mother's sister, was having your dad's baby, I'm not sure you would have been quite so nice about it. And I didn't want to risk your stable home life or the happiness of my sister."

"Except she was cheating on Dad with Mike the whole time."

"Yes, but I didn't know that. If Bella hadn't sent me that letter when she did, I would not have come home early, and Jessica's affair may never have been exposed."

"I guess. It's all worked out in the end." Alice agreed. "But Aunt B, what really changed your mind about coming home to England and being with Dad?"

Bella looked at Edward. She had told him all about the fight with Jessica but Alice still didn't know.

"Well, sweetie, I mentioned that quitting my work and wanting to be near family was one reason." Alice nodded. "What spurred on the decision though, was um..." Bella's eyes misted as she remembered the argument with Jessica, not with sadness so much as anger.

"It's all right angel. Alice already has a pretty low opinion of her." Edward said.

"It was Mum wasn't it? Something she said or did."

"Yes, Alice. I went down to see your grandmother Renee, to tell her that I was pregnant, and she said she had a surprise for me. That surprise was Jessica. She had come to stay in Carmel for a few weeks. We ended up having a massive argument."

"About me and Dad?"

"Yes. I was mad at her because she had tried to make out that the divorce was all your father's fault, when the reality is that he would never have left her if he hadn't caught her cheating, regardless of his feelings for me. And I was particularly mad at her because she hadn't been in contact with you."

"So she got my email?" Alice's eyes started watering.

"I believe she did. She never said she did explicitly but I know when Jessica is lying and she was lying when she tried to pretend she hadn't got it." Bella replied. "I'm so sorry sweetie."

"So after that, what happened next?" Alice asked, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"I had already made the decision to come back to England, but I was worried what everyone would think about me being with your dad, my sister's ex."

"Bella had refused to be with me at all, and it broke my heart."

"That's why you were such a zombie. It had nothing to do with Mum!"

"No... it was all Bella. Alice, I loved your mother when we got married and had you, but it wasn't a forever kind of love. We didn't have enough interests or values in common for it to last. The way I feel about Bella _is_ that kind of love. And the love I have for you is something amazing, out of this world special, princess."

"The love we both have for you, sweetie." Bella echoed.

"When did you change your mind, Aunt B? About being with Dad?"

"The sleepover. I was starting to doubt my decision but it was then that I realised that I just had to be with Edward, and with you. So we decided that we would just keep things quiet until the divorce came through, and if I hadn't fallen over, then that's the way things would have played out."

"I'm glad then. Even before I found the letter, I wanted you and Dad to get together. You guys fit together so well." Alice told them. Both Edward and Bella hugged her tightly. "But..."

"But...what, princess?"

Alice hesitated. She didn't want to burst the bubble of warmth they were in but she still had so many questions about the future.

"Where are you going to live? Aunt B, you're in Manchester, but our lives are in London..."

"I moved to Manchester because I thought I was going to be raising Little One by myself, and I wanted my family around me. But now, the plan is that I'm still going to have the baby in Manchester because I'm set up with a midwife and antenatal group and things up there, but then, I'll be moving here to be with you both."

"Are we going to live here with the baby? Or will we be moving?"

"We haven't decided that yet." Edward replied. Alice nodded but stayed silent.

"What is it, sweetie?" Bella stroked Alice's hair from her forehead. "What's the question you really want to ask?"

"How did you know there was something else on my mind?" Alice murmured.

"I know you Alice." Bella replied in an equally quiet voice.

"OK, so Mum doesn't want me. I can accept it, even if it's rubbish, because I've had you to look after me. But what about when Little One comes? How will you both have time for me when the baby's here? I don't mean to sound spoilt. I mean, of course the baby's going to need you for everything and I'm pretty self sufficient but..."

"Whoa, whoa, Alice!" Bella squeezed her hand to quieten her. Alice glanced up at her with watery eyes again. "Sweetie, between me and your father, we have more than enough love and affection for you and the baby. I guess it's hard for you to imagine because you've never grown up with brothers and sisters, but I promise you that when Little One arrives, you won't be ignored. The way I see it, when there's more than one child in the family, the love in that family expands. It's not finite. And you're going to be as important to Little One as me or your father."

"Yeah?" Alice felt a whole lot better. "Promise?"

"We promise, princess."

-cc-

Bree was annoyed with herself. She had intended to walk out of Hunter and Evenson and never come back. However, she had left her favourite umbrella, a tartan one her grandmother had given her, under her former desk. Therefore, three days after James Hunter had been taken into custody on drugs charges, she found herself back at his offices.

Despite the fact that it was 9.30am, the offices were deserted. Once James and Victoria were arrested, and details of their affair came out, Charles Evenson took to his bed with his whisky bottle. The firm, which was only hanging on by a thread anyway, simply collapsed. All the workers, from the cleaners to the associate lawyers, abandoned the sinking ship.

Bree still held a key so she let herself in through the back entrance, retrieved her umbrella and was about to leave when she heard a loud knocking at the front door.

"Hello?" A woman's voice called. "James? Anybody?"

Rather than open the front door, Bree went out through the back, locked up and walked round to the front to see which of the firm's clients had not got the message that the firm was in pieces. She recognised the petite, blonde, over-tanned thirty-something woman instantly. She ducked back into the alley and took out her mobile phone.

"_Hello, Bree?"_

"Hi Mr Jenks. I just thought you'd like to know that Jessica Cullen is back in town. She's at Hunter and Evenson right now." She whispered.

"_Oh, thanks for the heads up! I'll let Mrs Cullen know."_

"What should I do? I have to walk past her to get to the bus stop. She'll recognise me."

"_Tell her about James being arrested but feign ignorance about anything to do with her divorce. I'm going to see if she's reactivated her mobile and try to track her." _

"OK."

After Bree and Jenks said their goodbyes and Bree had hung up, Bree ventured out to the front. Jessica spotted her straight away.

"Hey! Hey, you!" she called out. "You work here don't you? You used to bring in the tea and coffee."

"Used to. I'm out of a job, at least I think I am. Nobody's really sure."

"What do you mean? What's happened to James?"

"Oh, didn't you know? Mr Hunter was arrested on Monday."

"WHAT!" Jessica went puce. "WHAT THE FUCK? Arrested? Why?"

"Drugs, we think." Bree replied, seemingly in an innocent way.

"What about my divorce? James was going to go..."

"As you pointed out, I was just his tea bitch. I have no idea about any cases. Sorry I can't help." Bree replied, working hard to keep a neutral face. "I have to go now. I only came back for my umbrella." Bree said, just as it started to rain. She took in Jessica, still dressed for California in a short pink sundress. "You might want to think about getting one too." Without saying anything else, Bree turned, opened her umbrella and walked away.

-cc-

Jessica didn't know what to do. She had turned up at Hunter and Evenson to find out that the firm was in ruins and her lawyer James Hunter had been arrested on drugs charges. She was in a dodgy part of town, dressed for warm California, not a wet, drizzly London morning. Pissed off and miserable, she tried to flag a taxi, but after fifteen minutes, none had driven by. She gave up and trudged down to the Tube station.

Jessica detested public transport, and hated it even more an hour later when she got off at Greenwich with her luggage. She walked to Mike's place and let herself into his apartment building using the code for the electronic keypad lock. However, when she tried the key to his actual flat, it wouldn't work. The lock had been changed. She banged on the door in frustration, and was surprised when the door was opened by an Indian woman in her twenties, dressed in yoga pants and a camisole.

"Who are you?" Jessica demanded.

"Who the hell are _you, _and what do you think you're doing trying to break into _my _apartment?" The Indian girl retorted, in a surprisingly posh Home Counties accent.

"I live here!"

"I don't think so! I've lived here for over a month!"

"Well, what happened to Mike? And where's all my stuff?"

"Mike Newton? Oh, you must be Jessica." Recognition washed over her face. "Look I don't know exactly. He got a job abroad, I think. I've rented this place from him. That's all I know. As for your stuff, it's downstairs in the storage lock-up. I'm busy, so you'll have to make an appointment with the caretaker to get it." The girl turned on her heel and kicked the door shut in Jessica's face.

Confused, Jessica sat down on her suitcase in the corridor. _Why wouldn't Mike tell me he'd moved abroad?_ Jessica then thought of the hundreds of text messages, voicemails and emails that she'd ignored. She opened her email on her phone and scrolled back through the unread emails. Finally she found the last email from him, dated five weeks earlier.

_To: Jessica Jane Cullen_

_From: Michael Newton_

_Subject: Leaving..._

_Dear Jessie, _

_My boss pulled me into his office today and offered me a promotion. It's not the first time he offered it to me, but I said no because of you. However, I don't know whether you're dead or alive, although I'm guessing that you are probably alive because I'm sure Edward would have told me if you'd died. Even though I've been a shit friend to him._

_I've said yes. It means a pay rise, company chauffeur and even a corporate luxury apartment because it's in Singapore. Without you, there's nothing keeping me in London. _

_If by any chance, you are alive and you still want a life with me, then I'm prepared to talk. But you'll have to come out here. Singapore's brilliant, and so is this job. _

_Don't expect me to sit around and pine for you like some teenage nerd. This place is full of hot women. _

_Mikey_

Jessica, already pissed off about James, screamed into her hands with frustration. When she'd calmed down, she went to the basement of the building and found the storage lock-up. She had a key for it, and decided to see if it still worked. It did. Jessica let herself in and was relieved to see her belongings safe and sound. _At least something's gone right. _She dug out a more weather-appropriate outfit, changed and left, leaving her suitcases behind. She threw her purse, lipstick and keys into a smaller handbag and left, turning off her mobile phone as an afterthought in order to preserve its diminishing battery life.

_Time to find my backstabbing sister and my lying, cheating husband._

-cc-

**AN: Sorry for the cliffie!**

**The next chapter should be out on Wednesday, but it could be Tuesday, or Thursday, depending on my crazy work week. Only two more regular chapters, and then the two-part epilogue. **


	18. Chapter 18

**Hi everyone! Wow, so much hate for Jessica, and I think we can all agree that it's totally deserved! **

**Thank you so much for all your reviews and comments! **

**Now, if this chapter had a name, it would be called 'Showdown in Shad Thames.' Please let me know what you think! **

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 18**

It was Thursday morning. Bella and Edward were getting hot and heavy on the large cream sofa in the apartment. Edward's t-shirt was off. Bella's lips were at his neck and her hands were on the top button of his jeans; he was caressing her ass and was about to do the same to her cleavage. The shrill ring of the house phone interrupted them.

"We'd better answer that, baby."

"Nooo... don't wanna...!" Edward mumbled into her shoulder as he held onto her tighter.

"You know you're going to. What if it's important?"

Edward groaned and let go of her,

"Hello?" He answered gruffly.

"_Edward? Are you all right?"_ Esme asked.

"Yes, of course, Aunt Esme. What's up?"

"_I just thought you'd like to know that Jessica is back in the country. She was banging down the door at Hunter and Evenson this morning."_

"Shit. But James is still in custody, right?"

"_Yes. Nobody's posted bail for him or Victoria Evenson. We think the decree absolute should be here tomorrow. However she can still stall it herself if she gets to the courthouse on time."_

"Shit. Is there anything we can do?"

"_I don't think so. Jenks is trying to track her through her mobile phone signal. We know that James managed to send her an email about your relationship with Bella just before he was arrested, but I don't know if she knows that the decree absolute is due imminently. Just beware that she might turn up, OK?"_

"OK. Thanks for letting us know. Keep us updated on her movements."

"_Will do."_

Edward hung up the phone. Bella leaned across, kissed his temple and tugged at his hair, causing him to sigh.

"I heard every word."

"I guess I'd forgotten that we'd have to face her eventually. I just don't want her barrelling in here and upsetting you and the baby, or Alice."

"I'm ready to face her. She was repeatedly unfaithful. You and I only had one night together before the divorce proceedings took place. She stayed with you because of your money. I am in love with you despite it. I'm prepared to do battle with her, and regardless of what she says or does, or what happens with the money, I will come away with the ultimate prize."

"What's that?"

"You and Alice. Our family. No longer hers."

Edward pulled her gently into his lap and sucked her bottom lip gently.

"I couldn't agree more. I'd give every penny of my inheritance away for just one more day with my parents. All I've ever truly wanted from life is to be happy at work and to have a large, loving family at home. "

"Me too." Bella agreed. "I could take or leave the lifestyle associated with my job at Volturi Industries. That's why I lived in Berkeley, away from Silicon Valley. I can't wait to see Alice become a fully-fledged ballet dancer, for Little One and perhaps more little ones to arrive, to see them grow, to live together in harmony. I know it won't always be easy but I wouldn't be anywhere else but right here."

"You'd have another child after this one?"

"Yes, ideally. I mainly grew up in a house which was busy but full of love and laughter. I want that for my children. After our initial clashes, Seth, Leah and I were a really happy little group." Edward went quiet and buried his head into the crook of Bella's neck. "Edward? Baby?" She felt him sigh into her neck, and a moment later, she felt hot wetness run down her collarbone. She tilted his head up so she could look at his face. His eyes were glistening.

"Sorry, it's just that I hated being an only child. My friends all had siblings, and of course Rosalie and Charlotte were always a twosome. I never wanted Alice to grow up alone like I did."

"And now, she won't."

Bella kissed his tears away, and was about to kiss Edward properly when the house phone rang again, this time with the ring tone for the front reception.

"For the love of... do you think someone up there doesn't want us to have sex this morning?" Bella cried.

"Certainly seems that way!" Edward agreed with chagrin before picking up the phone. "Yes?"

"_Sorry to disturb you sir, but there's a visitor here for Miss Swan. I couldn't help but notice that she's staying with you and he's quite insistent that he speak to her..."_ Diego said.

"What's his name?" Edward asked warily.

"_Marcus Volturi._"

"Marcus Volturi's here? Chief Financial Officer of Volturi Industries?"

"_That's what his business card says, sir. As does his ID."_

"Hang on a second." Edward cupped his hand over the receiver. Bella's mouth had dropped open in shock.

"Marcus Volturi's here? To see me?" Bella glanced down at her pregnant self, dressed in a grey maternity t-shirt and a pair of Edward's pyjama bottoms.

"Yes, angel. Do you want to see him?"

"He's not the sort of person you say no to, baby. God, look at me. I'm a mess!"

"A beautiful, radiant mess." Bella smiled, picked up Edward's t-shirt from the floor and threw it at him.

"Tell him to come up, and please can you feed him coffee and cake or something while I change?"

"Of course."

Bella went to change into something less casual. When she returned ten minutes later, dressed in a cobalt blue tunic with swallows printed on it, over black leggings, she found Marcus Volturi, her former boss, sitting at the kitchen breakfast bar. He was a tall man of age 50 with long grey hair, tied in a slick ponytail. He was dressed impeccably in a Hugo Boss suit. Edward had kept him entertained by talking about music; Marcus also played the piano.

"Err, hi?" Bella ventured.

"Isabella!" Marcus Volturi got up off his stool. "It is good to see you! You're glowing! Pregnancy obviously suits you. How far along are you now?" He held out a hand and Bella shook it a little tentatively.

"Thank you. I'm 31 weeks now. I'm due in September." Bella replied politely. "What brings you to London, sir? How did you know that I'd be here?"

"I didn't know for sure. I just asked our personnel department for your last UK address. As for the reason I'm here... our first quarter output has taken a nosedive, the European division in particular." Marcus said, taking a sip of his coffee. "I'm sure your departure and our poor performance this quarter are related. I didn't realise how much we relied on your yearly review and recommendations. I'm sorry that we overlooked your importance. Please, come back to our company?"

"I'm sorry, Mr Volturi, but my family are all here in England. I'm not going back to California. Mr Andrews did me a favour. I didn't realise how lonely I was there until I quit."

"I'm guessing that there isn't a price on a change of mind?"

"Not at all. What I have here is priceless. I want to raise my child, not a nanny. And I want to be near my family." Bella told him confidently. "Sorry you had a wasted trip."

"Mr Volturi, would you excuse Bella and me for a minute?" Edward asked, indicating for Bella to follow him. "Help yourself to more coffee and almond cake."

"Of course." Marcus replied.

Edward and Bella ducked into Alice's dressing room for a minute.

"From what I understand, angel, you used to do a large overview of the company's productivity in the run-up to the end of the fiscal year, and then work on smaller projects based on that large one to improve efficiency." Bella nodded. "What if you did their yearly overview for two months of the year, from the London office, and then Volturi Industries could get their full-time analysts to work on your recommendations? Rather than be employed by them, you could act as an independent contractor, leaving you free to do other things for the rest of the year."

"I like the idea, but that two months will be crazy. I'd be working flat out. I'd hardly see you or the baby or Alice."

"You would see us because you'll be coming home to us. I can reduce my work commitments to support you through it. Marcus Volturi is desperate. You could write your own fee, and you'd still have a hand in the corporate world, just in case you wanted to go back to it full-time. I just don't want you to feel trapped in full-time motherhood, with no way out because you got deskilled and couldn't get back into work."

"I wouldn't!"

"You say that now, angel, but I know how strong a work ethic you have. You need to be constantly challenged. There will come a point when you'll be desperate to do something other than mothering."

Bella thought about Edward's suggestion. _Edward's right. I hate having nothing to do._

"OK, baby. Why don't we see just how much Marcus Volturi wants my skills?"

-cc-

Thirty minutes later, Marcus left, delighted that he had managed to compromise with Bella Swan so that she would do a yearly review of the company's finances for the measly sum of £2.5 million pounds a year, with a yearly increment reflecting the rate of inflation, as well as the use of the best corner office at Volturi Industries' London HQ and a team of dedicated administrators. She had saved the company fifty times that in the past year. As he exited the Shad Thames apartment building, he walked past a familiar figure, which caused him to turn round.

"Jessica?"

Jessica turned round, surprised to see Marcus Volturi stood in front of her, about to get into a chauffeur-driven Bentley.

"Mr Volturi, what brings you to this part of London?"

"Just business, dear. You?"

"Just business." Jessica replied, smiling sweetly at him. "It's so lovely to see a friendly face!" She rolled her bottom lip under her top one and looked up at him from under her lashes to appear cute.

"Oh, are you having a bad day?"

"I am."

"You poor thing!" He exclaimed. He had found Jessica utterly charming when he met her through Phil Dwyer, a golf buddy and business associate. It was the first time he'd felt anything resembling attraction or affection for a woman since his wife Didyme died the previous year of breast cancer. "If you want to meet for a drink later, I'm staying at The Goring. Perhaps we could swap numbers?"

"Of course." Jessica pulled out her mobile, turned it back on and handed it to him. He put his number in and dialled it from her phone.

"There. All saved. Call me later?"

"I will. Thank you, Mr Volturi." Jessica stood on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

"Call me Marcus, dear." Marcus replied, blushing. He then waved goodbye before getting into the car.

Jessica waved him off and then turned and headed into the apartment building behind the postman. She started to head towards the lifts but was stopped by Diego.

"May I help you?"

"I'm going up to see my family in the penthouse. I have the code."

"Sorry, we have increased security here following a breach. All visitors to the penthouse apartments have to be announced and escorted. Which apartment?"

"Penthouse A."

"Your name?" Jessica hesitated. "I'm sorry but I can't and won't let you up unless the resident agrees."

"Fine!" Jessica huffed. "I'm Jessica Cullen."

Bella and Edward were kissing on the sofa once again when Diego's phone call came through.

"Seriously Diego?" Edward asked. "Another visitor?"

"_I'm afraid so, sir."_

"Who?"

"_Jessica Cullen."_

"Tell her she's not welcome." Edward said sternly, glancing at Bella. They were so in tune that she knew exactly what his glance meant. _Shit. Jessica. Shit. Shit. Shit._

Diego was about to do just that but Jessica grabbed the phone off him.

"Hello, _husband!_" She cooed in a saccharine voice. Edward immediately put her on speakerphone so Bella could hear too. "I suggest you let me up there or I'll just have to make my way down to Hammersmith and air all our dirty laundry at Alice's school..."

"Fuck! You... give the phone to Diego!" Jessica did as he asked. "Diego, let her up."

Edward turned to Bella, annoyed that Jessica still knew how to push his buttons. The last thing he wanted was for Alice to be embarrassed at school.

"Angel..."

"I'm ready to face her." Bella told him determinedly.

Jessica swept into the apartment a few minutes later. Bella stood up out of politeness, even though she was feeling anything but.

"Jessica."

"Bella, Edward. You seem to have quite the neat little set up here." Jessica looked around the luxury apartment. It looked much more lived in than when Bella had lived there. Edward's piano was in one corner. Along the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the Thames was Alice's ballet bar; ballet shoes were stacked in one corner. Alice's clothes were drying on the radiators. There were photographs in frames dotted all over the place.

"What brings you here? We agreed that we would only be in touch through the lawyers." Edward said.

"That was before I found out that my Miss-Priss sister had got knocked up by my seemingly-pious husband. You jackass!" Jessica cried before focussing her glare on Bella. "And you, you backstabbing cow? You're supposed to be my sister. You stole my husband!"

"What the..." Bella went red with anger, remembering the months of inner conflict she had gone through, denying herself Edward's love, because she didn't want to hurt Jessica, before realising that Jessica didn't value her family in the slightest.

"Stole me?" Edward's fists clenched in rage by his sides. "You threw me away! You threw away our marriage! Our life together! Our _daughter! _You fucked my closest friend, for years!"

"Well... well..." Jessica was good at yelling but not at coming up with retorts. "At least he knew how to fuck. How to pay attention to me!"

"Every time I tried, you pushed me away! I gave you everything you wanted, I even hired managers for the store so we could do things together and reconnect, yet you weren't interested! What about me and Alice? When did you ever pay attention to us? You put your friends, your socialising, your luncheons, your nails and your spray tan, all of that superficial stuff before your husband and daughter!" Edward yelled back. He had never, in all his years of marriage to Jessica, yelled at her. Venting his anger and frustration at Jessica's actions was a long time coming.

"And you got your revenge didn't you? By knocking up my sister!"

"Prove it." Bella said simply, eyes blazing, displaying a bravado she didn't really feel.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, prove it." Edward echoed, similarly putting on a defiant stance.

"I have a picture!" Jessica pulled up her email and showed them the picture Laurent had taken when Bella was in hospital. Edward and Bella were already aware of it, for Jenks had hacked into James Hunter's emails after his arrest.

"Like I said, prove it." Bella replied coolly. "That picture shows Edward comforting me when I was in hospital with a concussion. It doesn't prove that he's the father of my baby."

"It does! It..."

"It means shit all, Jessica. You know it. You're clutching at straws. Now I suggest you leave! Go run back to Mike!" Bella exclaimed. Jessica's sneering expression faltered, and both Edward and Bella caught it.

"Ohh... Mike's gone, hasn't he? Jessica, have you gone and burned another bridge?" Edward added, smirking slightly. Jessica's cool was all but lost. "What a surprise!"

"Well, I still think the courthouse would be interested to see this picture!" Jessica retorted, choosing to ignore Edward's sarcasm.

"Do you even know which court is processing our divorce? Or where it is?" Edward was very aware of Jessica's tendency to not bother with important details such as dates, times and places; it was a feature of her utter lack of responsibility.

"I... I... I'm going to find out, and when I do, I'm going to make you pay every single penny of that £5 million!" Jessica yelled.

"Go ahead and try, by all means. Whatever happens with the money, I get the..." Edward glanced at Bella and smiled. "... ultimate prize."

"Huh?" Jessica was confused. "What do you mean?"

"He means me. _Our_ family." A quiet voice piped up. Edward, Bella and Jessica hadn't noticed Alice creep in. "And you're too late." She added, waving a white envelope at them.

-cc-

Alice had gotten to school and was halfway through her morning English class when she was hit with abdominal cramps and nausea, familiar ailments that she got around her time of the month. She battled through to the end of the class, before going to the school nurse for painkillers. She knew that if she didn't take them straight away, she wouldn't be able to dance later. However, the school nurse decided that she also looked peaky enough to be sent home. Rather than disturb Edward and Bella, Alice used her emergency cash to call a cab, and arrived back at the Shad Thames apartment forty minutes later, passing the postman, who was leaving as she entered the lobby.

"Hello, Miss Alice! Are you all right?" Diego asked from the front desk.

"I'm not feeling too well actually. School sent me home."

"Sorry to hear that. Would you like me to escort you upstairs?"

"No I'll be OK. My dad will look after me."

"All right then." Diego replied. "This letter just came for your father. I signed for it on his behalf. Would you mind taking it up?"

"Not at all, thank you." Alice took the letter, a large stiff, white envelope, and tucked it under her arm.

"Oh, um, before you go up, I probably should warn you that your father has a visitor."

"Who is it?"

"Jessica Cullen."

"My MOTHER?" Alice exclaimed. "SHIT!"

Alice pulled out her phone and dialled Esme.

"_Alice?"_

"Mum's here! And she's with Dad and Aunt B."

"_I'm already on the way, munchkin. I'm less than five minutes from you, with my colleague Mr Jenks."_

"OK, see you soon."

Alice turned to Diego and instructed him to let Esme and Jenks up as soon as she got there, before getting into the lift. During the ride up to the penthouse floor, she felt bile rise up into her throat and tried her best to suppress the nerves she felt. _OMG I'm going to see Mum again. Is she here for me?_

When Alice got to the apartment door, she hesitated before opening it. She could hear distant voices shouting, Jessica's most of all. She slumped against the wall, drained and emotional from both her errant hormones and the reappearance of her mother.

She turned over the white envelope in her hands. After she had spun it round a couple of times, she spotted the official-looking emblem in one corner. _The County Court? Could it be...?_

Alice opened the envelope carefully, diligently.

It was the decree absolute. A day early.

"_Ohh... Mike's gone, hasn't he? Jessica, have you gone and burned another bridge? What a surprise!"_

"_Well, I still think the courthouse would be interested to see this picture!"_

Alice pushed the decree absolute back into the envelope, slipped her key into the lock, gently opened the door and went inside. The adults in the room didn't notice at first as they were too involved in their argument. Alice observed her mother, who was dressed in tight indigo skinny jeans, a coral-coloured low-cut top and beige stiletto shoe boots, and was overly tanned with brassy blonde highlights. _OMG, my mother is actually a hoe-bag. _

"...Go ahead and try, by all means. Whatever happens with the money, I get the..." Alice saw her father and her beloved Aunt B exchange a look filled with love and pride. Parental pride. "... ultimate prize." _They mean me! That's the look they both give me when I do something good._

"Huh?" Jessica clearly didn't get it. "What do you mean?"

Alice decided that it was time she said something.

"He means me. Our family." She said in a quiet voice, but with confidence. She held up the envelope in her hand. "And you're too late."

"Alice, this doesn't concern you." Jessica retorted. "And what do you mean, I'm too late? Too late for what?"

Alice walked over to stand next to Edward and Bella, handed Edward the envelope and kissed him and Bella on the cheek.

"Too late to succeed at being gold-digger, Mummy Dearest. That envelope? That's the decree absolute. The divorce is final. No money for you!" Alice replied. "Dad and Aunt B are my family now. They're the role models I want to emulate."

"Alice, you don't know what they did..." Jessica said, her eye glinting at the thought of accusing Edward of an affair with Bella in front of Alice. _Let's see your image of Edward as the perfect daddy crumble and burn._

"What they did? Why don't we talk about what _you _did? How about the fact that you screwed that fugly creep Mike Newton in the bed you shared with Daddy? Or the fact that you planned to rob me of half my inheritance and..."

"Alice, don't you dare..." Jessica tried to interrupt and scold Alice for her impertinence, but Alice was raging, and on a roll.

"Don't _you_ dare! Coming in here trying to play the victim? It's sick! You're sick! You even hired some sleazy coked-up lawyer whose crony followed Aunt Bella in Manchester! He upset her, caused her to fall over and to end up in the hospital! Did you know that? That Aunt B could have lost her baby because of you?" Alice knew that the last bit was pure conjecture but it had been her worst fear when Bella had been in the hospital and Alice had directed her frustration and worry into blaming Jessica.

Jessica was speechless. All the words in her head had cleared out. She was white-hot angry but could not express herself in the face of the furious dressing down her daughter had delivered.

"All that, and you couldn't even be bothered to write or phone or email to tell me that, throughout the mess of the past few months, that you cared about me, that you thought about me, that you thought I was worth fighting for. Because you don't, do you Mum? You never really wanted me, did you?"

Jessica remained silent and stony-faced.

There was an urgent knocking on the apartment door.

"Come in, Aunt Esme." Alice called out. Esme entered with Jenks. He was particularly annoyed that he had lost track of Jessica when she turned off her mobile phone and realised too late that she was in Shad Thames.

"Hello, all."

"Hello. I'm afraid you're a little late to this party, Aunt Esme. Jessica was just leaving." Edward said, beaming from ear to ear with pride at Alice.

"But... but... we agreed on a fifty thousand pound settlement Edward!" Jessica exclaimed.

"If you put up no barriers to the divorce. But I think throwing around accusations and threatening to stall the divorce by showing the court that picture constitutes barriers, don't you?" Edward replied. "I don't think I'm actually obliged to give you anything now. And it's not like you have a cokehead lawyer to argue the case for you anymore."

"You... you... BASTARD!"

"I hate to add to your situation, Jessica, but we do have evidence of your attempt to manipulate the post-nuptial agreement. That could be considered intent to commit fraud, which is a criminal offence. If we took it to the police, I'm quite confident that you would be charged. Perhaps you should run along before I call my friend at Scotland Yard." Esme added.

"What evidence?"

"Emails between you and James Hunter. A witness statement. A voice recording of you discussing the post-nuptial agreement."

With a satisfied grin, Edward curled his arm around Bella, kissed her gently, and pressed his hand to his tummy. Little One, who had been nudging Bella constantly as her heart had been pounding, kicked against his daddy's hand and then calmed instantly. Bella curled her free arm around Alice, who cuddled into her side.

Jessica looked around the room at Alice, Edward and Bella, and then at Esme and her colleague. Fuming, Jessica stormed out.

Alice could no longer hold her composure and burst into tears.

"Oh princess!"

Bella and Edward surrounded her and hugged her tightly.

"She really doesn't love me." Alice sobbed into Bella's neck. Edward looked into Bella's eyes and glanced towards the apartment door. Bella nodded in understanding, such was the depth of their love and connection.

"Sweetie, let's go to your room a minute."

Alice nodded and let Bella lead her away.

Edward grabbed his chequebook, strode out of the apartment door, and beckoned Esme and Jenks to follow him.

Jessica was still outside, pressing the lift call button impatiently.

"Jessica."

"What?" She replied irritably.

"Do you still want the money?"

She turned round.

"Of course I do! What kind of fucking stupid question is that?"

"If you had to choose between the £50 grand and contact with Alice, what would you choose?"

Jessica looked at the chequebook in Edward's hand. The sad thing was that she didn't hesitate with her answer.

"The money." She replied.

Edward shook his head.

"You see, if you had chosen our daughter, our beautiful, special, talented girl, I would have given you the £50 grand _and_ alimony. But if you can't see her worth, you deserve nothing. One day you'll see, Jessica. All the money in the world means nothing, without love."

Edward turned and went back into the apartment, followed by Esme and Jenks. Jessica stood there, dumfounded, before screaming so loudly the mirror in the lift lobby shook.

-cc-

Two days later, on Saturday afternoon, after lunch at Moro- Bella had a craving for the Spanish restaurant's grilled lamb- Edward took her and Alice to a part of London he hadn't visited in over two years.

"Dad, why are we at Grandpa Ed and Grandma Wizzie's old house?" Alice asked as they got out of the car outside the large, magnificent five-storey Victorian townhouse in Little Venice.

"Wow, it's beautiful." Bella sighed. "Edward, is this the house you grew up in?"

"Yes it is. Would you like to have a look?"

"I'd love to." Bella replied, a slight shiver running through her. _Wow. Just wow._

"But Dad, I thought that you sold this house. You said that you didn't want to live in it and..."

"I never sold it, princess. When I said I didn't want to live in it, I meant that I wasn't ready to live in it. I rented it out instead, to some old university friends of Uncle Carlisle and Aunt Esme, Carmen and Eleazar, who were working in London on a two year contract. They went back to Spain last month." He explained. "Shall we?"

Alice and Bella followed him into the house. Edward Senior and Elizabeth had loved to mix old and new. The house was decorated in a very contemporary neutral palate with splashes of colour; modern fixtures, fittings and furniture with clean lines sat sympathetically next to Victorian period features. They had refurbished the whole house just six months before they died.

"It's so weird to be here again." Alice said. "Especially without Grandpa and Grandma."

Edward noticed that Bella wasn't saying very much. She moved first into a lounge, which Ed Senior had liked to use as a reading and music room. His precious first editions and musical manuscripts lined the floor to ceiling bookshelves, which were encased in locked protective glass. A grand piano, the bigger version of Edward's baby grand, took up half the room. A vintage leather sofa, winged armchair and antique coffee table sat in the other section. Bella closed her eyes for a moment, imagining what it would be like to sit and read in the peaceful room.

Edward watched her carefully as she moved through to a more casual family room, which still held his childhood rocking horse, as well a state-of-the-art home cinema system and a massive corner sofa. He observed her reaction to the huge basement kitchen and dining room, which opened out onto a patio and landscaped garden. She moved around the large cooking area, and ran her hand over the sleek black granite worktops. Elizabeth had designed the kitchen herself, wanting it to be ergonomic and functional, yet strikingly beautiful and hi-tech. Bella nearly cried when she spotted a special drawer to prove bread and three separate ovens.

By the time Edward had shown Bella the five large bedrooms and bathrooms on the top three floors, the large attic space, the terrace and the garden, and they had returned to the kitchen, Bella was officially in love with the house.

"Edward, why are you showing me this house?" Bella asked, finally finding her voice. "Was it just to show me where you grew up?"

"No, my love. I was hoping that you would like the house enough to consider living here with me and Alice. I couldn't bring myself to live here with Jessica. Looking back, it didn't feel right to move my unhappy relationship into this house where I had grown up so happy, despite the fact that I had detested being an only child. It's the kind of house that should be filled with love."

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Bella threw herself into Edward's arms and speckled his face with kisses.

"What's going on?" Alice had heard Bella's joyful exclamation and run into the kitchen from the garden. "Dad, did you just propose to Aunt B? Is that why she's so happy?" she asked excitedly. _Are they getting married? Yay! Could I be bridesmaid?_

"No, sweetie! Nothing like that!" Bella laughed. Edward couldn't help but feel a flicker of disappointment. _I know it's a bit early to be asking, but she knows it's a given that I'm going to ask her soon, right? _

"Alice, I suggested that perhaps we could all live here, rather than in the apartment. It's bigger and much more practical for when Little One arrives. What do you think? It's still very close to Central London for your ballet classes, and it's nearer to your school. It's a prettier, greener area with more parks..."

"Dad, you don't have to sell living here to me! I've always loved this house!" Alice replied. She began pirouetting around the large island in the middle of the kitchen. Edward put his arm around Bella, and the two of them just laughed, enjoying her delight.

_Home sweet home._

-cc-

**AN: One more regular chapter left! I think it will go out Friday, unless I go see BD2 that night, in which case it'll be some time on Saturday. **


	19. Chapter 19

**Hi everyone! I am posting this quickly as I've been roped into going to a wedding as my GBF's Plus One, but in return he's promised to take me to see BD2 at a midnight showing tonight! Yay! I thought I'd have to wait until tomorrow! **

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I think it was the greatest number of reviews I've ever had for a single chapter! **

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 19**

Bella spent the next six weeks with Edward and Alice mostly in London. She even found an extra antenatal class in Maida Vale, near to the house in Little Venice, and asked Edward to go with her. He was overjoyed to finally be able to help Bella prepare for the birth. Bella was there with the Cullens to see Alice dance with Royal Ballet in Alice in Wonderland. She played three different background dancer parts and was spectacular in them all. Bella clapped the hardest and cheered the loudest at opening night, crying with pride. Alice started her school summer holidays the Monday after closing night, and woke up every day with a smile on her face, because the perfect family life she craved so desperately was finally coming together.

Over those six weeks, they merged their two homes into one. All of Bella's things and the items that she had bought for Little One in Manchester made their way to the house in Little Venice. Edward and Alice's belongings from the Shad Thames apartment did the same. The exception was Edward's baby grand piano. As much as he loved it, there wasn't room for two pianos in the house, and he elected to keep his father's piano instead. The baby grand was therefore sold via Green Park Music's online second hand sales site.

Bella, Rosalie and Charlotte became good friends, and Edward found himself with new guy friends in Emmett and Peter. Emmett and Rosalie were, in Rosalie's own words, 'sickeningly happy.' Emmett was spending less and less time in Manchester and was considering renting out his house, in order to make a permanent move to London. Rosalie and Bella had both worked with or for large multinational corporations, and were both analytical and fiercely intelligent. They spent hours bantering about politics, economics and business strategy.

Charlotte was taking a break from acting and working in Edward's shop as a sales assistant. She had moved into Pete's London flat in Clapham; away from the competitive, histrionic environment of the actors' house, she started to find herself again. Free from the confines of years of dieting in order to look good on screen or stage, Charlotte started to look for other outlets for her creativity and Bella was more than happy to introduce her to baking.

When Bella was 37 weeks pregnant, she, Edward and Alice decamped to Manchester. Bella still wanted to give birth there. She trusted her obstetrician, and knew her chosen hospital well. Also, although she loved and adored Edward with all her heart, they both acknowledged that Edward's anxious tendencies and obsessive need to know every little detail of every procedure would turn him into a wreck if he were Bella's birthing partner. They both agreed that Sue was a much better choice.

Another reason for the temporary move back to Manchester was because Bella wanted Edward and Alice to get to know the Clearwater Swans better. She had sensed Charlie's wariness with regards to Edward when she was recovering from her concussion. Leah was also suspicious when she heard that Bella's newly-divorced lover and the father of her baby was none other than her ex-brother-in-law. Seth had been nonplussed. He simply trusted that, if his dear sister Bella loved Edward, Edward was a good man.

Slowly, by spending time with Edward, Charlie and Leah came to realise that Edward wasn't a cheater, player or heartbreaker; he was simply a man who had been in an unhappy marriage, who had happened to fall deeply in love with his wife's distant half-sister. When Charlie saw him with Alice, he was instantly reminded of his love for Bella, and the time in his life when he had been a single parent. Leah saw that Edward always thought of Alice and Bella's welfare before anything else, and couldn't help but respect him. Emmett and Peter, who had gotten to know Edward in London, stood up for him. They told their group of friends that he was a great guy, a great dad and a great friend, who adored and worshipped Bella.

It had been mainly a cool, damp, drizzly summer until the last couple of days in August, when suddenly, Britain found itself in the midst of a heatwave, the beginnings of an Indian summer. Temperatures soared, and so did Bella's discomfort. She had been hoping that Little One would put in an appearance early, but at 39 weeks, there was no sign. Alice was due to start back at school in ten days, and Bella was getting worried about her not being nearby for the birth, having been spoilt by several weeks of seeing her all day every day.

"Aunt B, your stress can't be good for you or the baby." Alice commented as she handed Bella yet another cup of ice. "Please, try to relax."

"Thanks, sweetie." Bella shifted her weight on the sofa, but still felt uncomfortable, so shifted back. She then decided to sit forwards, but after a moment she decided that it hurt her back and stood up. "God, why can't I just get comfy?" Bella found herself getting irrationally upset. "Little One, please just come out!" With that, she burst into tears.

Edward, who had been in the kitchen, washing the dishes after their lunch, ran in at the sound of her cries.

"Angel, angel, angel... what's wrong?" He tried to put his arms around her, to soothe her, but she shrugged him off, too hot and bothered to cope with the rise in her hormones caused by his touch.

"I-I'm a whale!" She sobbed. "I can't get comfortable! Everything hurts!"

"Little One will be here soon. It'll all be worth it. And you're not a whale, Bella love. You're beautiful."

"Bullshit! There are hippos out there that look better than me!" Bella knew she was being unreasonable but she didn't seem to be able to control it. "If I'm like this before Little One's even here, what am I going to be like when he's here and I'm sleep-deprived and leaking milk and..."

"OK, that's it." Edward didn't know exactly what he was going to do, but he knew he had to do something. Bella was getting so hot and bothered that he was starting to worry about the health of her and of Little One. "Alice, Bella and I need a bit of alone time, princess. Do you think you could amuse yourself for an hour or two?" It was the first time Edward had ever asked Alice for privacy with Bella and they both felt instantly guilty.

Alice was not offended in the least. It upset her to see the usually-calm Bella so unhinged. Besides, she knew exactly how she could spend an hour or two. _FaceTime with Jasper._

"Seeing as it's a nice day, I might go to the park for a while. Maybe catch up with some friends on the phone." She replied. "I think I'll get some ice cream from the cafe too." She added, thinking of the delicious homemade ice cream Emily served at the Didsbury branch of Clear Swan Deli-Cafe.

"That sounds like a good idea, princess. Thank you for being so understanding." Edward said, giving her £10 spending money.

"S-s-sorry, Alice." Bella sobbed. "W-w-wear sun-cream. I love you."

"I will. Love you too." Alice kissed her on the cheek, grabbed her bag and left.

Edward took Bella by the hand and led her slowly upstairs.

"Angel, all those stress hormones can't be good for you or Little One. Please let me help you calm down."

"How?"

He led her into the bathroom.

"I think it's clear that this heatwave's the reason you're so cranky. Let me cool you down?"

"Um... OK?" Bella replied hesitantly. "Once again, how?"

"Err..." _Think, Edward! _Suddenly he had an idea.

Edward turned on the taps, filling the tub with water that was just a touch cooler than lukewarm, but still pleasant enough for her to sit in.

"I'm just going to get something. Strip for me?" Bella raised an eyebrow. "Please?" She shrugged and started to pull off her red loose cotton sleeveless top. "Thanks, angel. But don't get in yet, OK?"

Edward ducked into the bedroom Alice had claimed and into the large floral cloth-covered storage box she had brought alongside her suitcases of clothes. He hoped and prayed that his daughter had brought her bubble-spa mat with her. When he found it, he cried with relief.

"What's that?" Bella asked when he came back. Edward nearly dropped the thing when he saw her standing in the bathroom, wearing not a stitch. _Holy hell. How does she not know that she is so unbelievably sexy, bump or no bump? _

"Um, err... it's a portable bubble-spa mat. Alice loves it so much she has two- one for home and one for travel. It helps ease her muscles after training and I, uh, thought you might like it. It's far gentler than a Jacuzzi so it's safe for the baby as long as we only use it for a few minutes. It might soothe your back... but if you don't want to..." Edward rambled. Bella's anxiety was rubbing off on him.

"I'll try anything." Edward brushed her lips with a delicate kiss and then set up the spa mat."OK now, my love, get in."

He held Bella's hand to help her in.

"Oh, that's lovely!" She exclaimed as the water hit her overheated skin. "But my back still aches."

"Ready for me to turn this on?"

"Go for it, baby." As the bubbles floated up and hit her back and thighs, Bella started to feel her aches melt away. "Mmm..."

"Better?"

"Yes! Thank you!" She leant over to kiss him. Edward felt his own anxiety fade as a smile returned to his beloved's face. He dropped more kisses on her shoulder.

"Would you like me to get you a drink?"

"Elderflower cordial? Lots of ice?"

"OK."

Bella settled back into the bubbly water. For the first time in days she felt comfortable. Little One seemed to like it too. She felt a series of kicks along the side of her abdomen.

"Oh Little One. We're ready for you, I promise." Bella often talked to her baby bump, especially in the past few weeks. Edward and Alice had taken to doing it too. "You are going to love your room. It's green and white with little cuddly toy chicks and ducks for you to play with. It's next to me and Daddy so we'll be right there when you need us. So can you do me a favour, my sweet child?" Bella sighed. Little One kicked again as if to say '_Yes Mummy?_'

"Come out to meet us. We love you so much already. We can't wait. And I know that you love us too. Every time I watch your sister dance with pride, you flutter and spin like she does. Whenever your daddy plays his beautiful music for us, my heart leaps, and I feel you leap. Whenever I bake something that smells yummy and look forward to eating it, I feel a little tug, as if you're waiting to taste it too. Well, if you come out, you can see Alice dance for yourself. You can hear Daddy play piano and you can be Mummy's little sous-chef. So, what do you say?"

Bella was more than a little disappointed that nothing happened. Edward, who had heard her talking to the baby, had to brush away tears. _How did I live for thirty-six years without experiencing this kind of love? _

"Bella."

"Hey, how long have you been there?" She asked sheepishly. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah." He handed her a tall plastic cup of iced elderflower cordial. "Sorry, I couldn't help but get a bit choked up."

"Why? You know it's the truth."

"Yes, but I've never felt it as much as I did just then." Bella put the cup down on the bath shelf and cupped Edward's face in her hands.

"You make me feel your love every day, baby. Look at what you've just done for me." She brushed away a couple of floppy auburn waves from his forehead. "You and our children are my reason for existing."

What else could Edward do but kiss her and kiss her?

Just as he was contemplating stripping to get into the tub with her, Bella suddenly pulled away.

"Edward, turn the bubbles off!" Bella yelled. He immediately did what she asked.

"What is it, angel?" Bella clutched her side.

"I think I just had a contraction! A proper one, not a Braxton-Hicks!"

"Do you think you can stand up and get out of the tub?" She nodded and he helped her out. He grabbed a giant bath towel, wrapped it around her and led her to the bedroom. "How do you feel?"

"Absolutely fine. I don't know. Maybe I imagined it. Wishful thinking, I guess." Disappointment flooded Bella's features, causing a pang in Edward's heart.

"Sorry, angel." He picked up a second towel. "Let me dry you?"

"OK." Bella lay back on the bed and let Edward rub her down with the soft Egyptian cotton towel. Just as he was drying her bump, Bella gasped again.

"OWW!" Bella sat up. "That's... definitely a ... CONTRACTION!"

"I would agree with that! Angel, I think your waters just broke!" He held up the towel, which had a massive wet spot.

"Little One's coming! Finally!"

-cc-

Little One was definitely on the way, but he was also taking his time. By ten pm, nearly eight hours after Bella went into labour, it looked like she was still several hours away from delivery.

"Was it this bad when you gave birth, Mama Sue?" Bella panted as she came through another contraction.

"I hate to say it, but yes it was, Baby Girl. Leah was huge!" They giggled. "You know, you can have some pain relief other than gas and air."

"No. I can't stand the thought of a needle in my back for an epidural, and I'm not having Pethidine. As much as I'm grumbling about the pain, I want to remember Little One's arrival, and I'll be totally out of it if they give me that stuff."

"It's up to you, Bells." Sue replied.

There was a knock on the door. It was Alice and Edward.

"Aunt B! The midwives are making Dad take me home! Apparently they don't like kids being here after eight and it's now ten! Dad's staying though."

"Edward, are you OK to drive?" Sue asked, taking in Edward's trembling, pale form. He was a ball of nerves, struggling every time he witnessed his beloved Bella in pain.

"Sure." He replied shakily.

"The hell you are, baby! You look worse than I do!"

"Sorry angel. I just... it's... you're... bloody hell, I can't even speak!"

Sue stuck her head out of Bella's door.

"Charlie!"

Charlie emerged from the waiting room. He wasn't actually much better than Edward. Sue was going to ask him to drive Alice back, but thought better of it.

"Yes love?"

"Call Seth, would you? Ask him to come get Alice?"

"Will do, love."

"Alice, come here." Bella asked. Alice approached the bedside.

"Aunt B, I don't wanna leave you!" Alice threw her arms around Bella's neck.

"It's OK, sweetie. Seth will bring you straight back in the morning, and with any luck, your brother or sister will be here."

"My brother. I'm sure of it." Alice said, shrugging with her certainty. "He's going to be, like, the coolest little man ever."

"He'll take after his sister, then. She's pretty cool too."

Alice hugged Bella again.

"Aunt B, can I ask you something? My timing sucks but it's something I've been meaning to ask you for a few weeks..."

"Anything, sweetie."

"So, yeah, you're my aunt, but seeing as you're Dad's soulmate and we're going to be a family, I was wondering... you know how you call Sue, Mama Sue?" Bella nodded, and smiled, aware of where this was going. "Can I start calling you B or Mama B instead? I don't have to, if you prefer Aunt B, but..."

"You know what, you ramble when you're nervous, just like your father!" Bella grinned. "Alice, nothing would make me happier than to be your 'Mama B.'"

"Yay!" With one final hug goodbye, Alice left Bella with a big grin on her face.

-cc-

The sun was shining again when Bella was finally ready to push.

"Come on Bella! You're doing great. Just a couple more pushes!" Sue told her, clutching her hand. Bella was sweaty and red-faced, and absolutely exhausted.

"No, no, no, no... I can't! I can't! So tired!"

"You can! Your baby's so close, so close!"

"It hurts!"

"You gotta push through the pain. Little One's worth it. For every second of pain you feel now, your child will bring you a million seconds of joy."

Sue's pep talk was helping, but Bella needed another boost.

"Edward. Please. I need him. Just for a minute."

The midwife scowled. She didn't like bending the rules, which said that a mother was allowed only one birth partner.

"PLEASE!" Bella wailed.

The midwife didn't have to call Edward. He was at the door, his body on high alert for any Bella-related noise.

"Angel?" What's wrong!"

"I needed to see you, just for a second!"

"I'm here." He kissed her forehead, nose and lips.

"OK, that's long enough. Bella, if the baby doesn't come out on the next set of pushes, I'm calling for a C-section consultation." The midwife said.

"No! No surgery! I'll push!"

"You can do it, my love."

Bella pushed and bore down as much as she could. _Fucking hell, I'm going to split in two!_

"That's it, Ms Swan!" The tired junior doctor who was assisting with the birth observed. "The head's out."

"Edward, don't leave me! Mama Sue, please stay!"

"We're right here, angel." Edward said, trying not to give into his body's urge to faint. _Our baby's going to be here any minute! I need to hold it together!_ "I'm going to stay up by your head though!"

"As long as you stay with me."

"Right, Bella, what I need you to do is to take a huge deep breath in and then bear down like never before, OK?"

"OK."

"Right... now!"

Bella did exactly what she was told. She closed her eyes, gripped the hands of Sue and Edward. She found herself pressing and pushing, right through the pain.

"WAAAAHHHHHH... GRUH... GRUH... GRUH... WAAAAHHH!"

"Miss Swan, you have a son! Born on 31st August at 7.17am." The doctor exclaimed. "He has, uh, quite the head of hair!"

Bella didn't have the strength to hold her head up, but she beamed. _We have a son! Alice was right!_

Edward and Sue were both crying tears of shock, awe and joy. The doctor held out a pair of scissors to cut the cord, and Edward snipped through it. The midwife took the baby away to do some checks whilst Edward and Sue looked on.

"Dad, would you like to hold your baby boy?" The midwife asked after a couple of minutes. "He seems perfectly healthy."

"Yes!" The midwife chuckled and passed Edward his son, now wrapped in a blue blanket, still bawling.

"Hello son! I'm your daddy! We're so happy to finally see you." Edward kissed him on the forehead, and the baby's cries quietened, but he didn't stop. "Oh, I know why you're still grizzly. You want Mummy, don't you? You've both waited for nine months to meet each other!"

Edward turned round and went over to Bella.

"Angel, there's someone who wants to meet you!"

"My Little One!" Bella cried, still exhausted, but perking up at the sight of her baby. Edward laid him down on her chest, and he immediately went quiet and started rooting.

Sue wiped away her tears, got out her phone and took some pictures of Edward, Bella and their Little One, all three of them so completely and utterly in love with each other. Once the placenta was delivered, Sue decided to step out.

"I'm going to do the family phone round, OK?"

"Thanks Mama Sue." Bella whispered, unable to take her eyes off the baby. The doctor and midwife also left the room. She stroked her thumb over her son's forehead, and a tiny dark red tuft of hair fell forward. Bella rubbed his head and ruffled all his little tufts of hair upwards. Little One sighed, yawned and after closing his mouth with a little grunt, he fell asleep against his mother.

"Bella, my love, he's so gorgeous!" Edward exclaimed. "Can you believe it?"

"He has your hair, baby! Just like I hoped!"

"He's got your eyes! Even though they don't look brown yet, I'm sure! They're your shape."

"What about names?"

"I don't know. None of the ones we picked out seem right now that I've got him in front of me. He doesn't look like a Jack or an Edward Junior." Bella replied.

"You're right. As much as I wanted my son to have my name, I don't think he would suit 'Edward.'"

The midwife returned then.

"I just need to check that you're in tact down below dear. Let's move baby to the cot."

Reluctantly, Bella let the midwife pick up the baby. Her son, however, was having none of it.

"WAAAAHHHHHH... GRUH... GRUH... GRUH... WAAAAHHH!"

"Oh my! You sound like a little lion, Mister!" The midwife laughed. "With that head of hair you kind of look like one too!" She said as she put him in the cot. The baby continued to wail.

"Oh Little One!" Bella found it heartbreaking to hear him cry. "My little lion man! It's OK. It's OK."

"He's probably hungry too. I'll help you with the first feed after your check."

"Thank you."

Bella suddenly noticed that Edward had gone quiet.

"Edward, are you all right?" Her question seemed to snap him out of it.

"What? Oh, yeah! I should be asking you that!"

"What is it? I know that face. You've got an idea brewing, haven't you?"

"Yes, OK, I have!"

"What?"

"OK, so do you know what the Latin for 'lion' is?"

"Err... Leo?"

"Yeah... what do you think of calling Little One 'Leo'?"

"Leo... Leo Cullen... not Leonard or Leonardo, right? Just Leo."

"Just Leo."

"Leo _Charles_ Cullen... my father's name as his middle name, perhaps?" Bella smiled. _I love it!_

"I love it! Leo Charles Cullen!"

-cc-

Four days later, Bella, Edward, Alice and baby Leo returned to London. Alice was over the moon to find out that she had a new brother, and loved his name too. She took to being a big sister effortlessly, and had a knack of knowing exactly what Leo wanted when he was bawling. They were all exhausted, but so happy that words couldn't describe their joy.

Two weeks after Leo was born, Bella turned thirty. She didn't want a fuss. She was too tired from being a sleep-deprived new mother and hated to be away from their son for even five minutes. Therefore, Alice made Bella a chocolate cake and decorated it with fudge icing, purple and blue sprinkles. Edward made her mushroom ravioli in Parmesan cream sauce with garlic bread, one of her favourite dinners. Edward and Alice made her a picture comprising of Leo's footprints and handprints, and put it in a double frame along with a picture of the four of them. They also gave her an antique sapphire pendant on a gold chain that had once belonged to Elizabeth, who had also been born in September.

"Oh, it's all so perfect!" Bella exclaimed when she opened her presents after dinner, once she had blown out the candles on the cake. "Thank you!"

"Really, Mama B?" Alice asked. "You don't want anything else?"

"Nope. I have everything I want and everything I need right here." Bella replied, kissing Alice on the forehead.

"Cool." Alice said. "I'd better go finish my homework." She picked up her plate of cake and bounced off to her room to study, but also to talk to Jasper.

Edward moved to take Alice's vacant place next to Bella on the sofa, and took her into his arms.

"Massage love?"

"Honestly, baby, I want more than just a massage!" She stroked her hand over his chest and down his abdomen.

"Yeah?"

"Just the past couple of days, my hormones have been raging."

"Is it safe?"

"I think it's probably too soon. Plus, I'm not exactly sexy. I'm all leaky and chubby and covered in these stretch marks."

"You're very sexy. Always." Edward pulled Bella's legs across his lap and latched his lips to her neck.

"God, Edward!" she cried as she became flushed with arousal.

"WAAAAHHHHHH... GRUH... GRUH... GRUH... WAAAAHHH!" The baby monitor grabbed their attention.

"Oh, Leo, what excellent timing!"

"He's probably hungry. My breasts certainly think so!" Bella could feel her milk leaking.

"Let's go up together, shall we?"

After Leo had been fed and changed, he settled back to sleep fairly quickly and his parents went to their bedroom.

"Can I take you up on that massage offer, baby?"

"Of course. Make yourself comfortable on the bed." Bella did so, lying on her front, which after months of carrying a baby bump, was still something of a novelty.

Edward stripped her of her t-shirt and ran his hands up and down her back before gently pressing down on the knots in her neck to ease the tension. He repeated his actions all over her back and shoulders until she was jelly.

"Wow. So good." Bella sighed as she turned round.

Edward looked at her, dressed only in a pair of blue flannel pyjama shorts, long, wild dark brown hair spilling across their ivory coloured sheets. Her deep chocolate eyes, full of warmth and love, raked over him.

One question ran through his mind. It had been on the tip of his tongue ever since the decree absolute came through.

"Bella, my angel, can I ask you something?"

"After a massage like that, Edward, baby, you can ask me anything, and I'll probably say yes!" She giggled.

"Hmm... I really hope you do."

He came to lie down next to her. Bella shifted onto her side and he did the same.

"You know that you're the love of my life right? And if there's an afterlife, then you'd be my love there too?"

"Yes... of course, baby. You know that I feel exactly the same."

"Isabella Marie Swan, you've made my soul complete. You've given my daughter more maternal love than she's ever known, and now you've given me a son too, my perfect boy. Please, be my wife?"

Bella was speechless. _Wife? Marriage?_

"Bella?" He asked, when she didn't answer.

"Oh, Edward!" He started to smile when she said his name. "I am so in love with you. My heart is yours. You, me, Alice and Leo. We're perfect as a family."

"So, you'll marry me?" He asked excitedly. Bella bit her bottom lip and a lone tear rolled down her cheek.

"No."

Before she could explain, Leo started wailing again. Bella jumped up and ran to his nursery, thus avoiding his questions.

"Hey, hey, what's the matter, Little One? What's up with my little Lion Man?"

Edward watched as Bella soothed and comforted their son. Eventually, he let out a little burp, and immediately quietened. Bella sat with him in the rocking chair until he fell asleep, before putting him back into his crib.

Seeing to her son had helped her calm down a little, and she was ready to explain her feelings to Edward.

"Bella, please..."

"Let me explain, baby." She said, once they were back in their room.

"OK."

"I love you and you love me. We have a child together. We live together. Things are perfect as they are. Why do we need marriage?"

"It's a demonstration of our love and commitment to one another." He countered.

"But why do we need it? I know you love me, that you'd never leave me. I trust you about that like I know you trust me. Marriage just caused you hassle before. Why would you want to go through that again?"

"You aren't Jessica. You would never cheat on me like she did. You love me in a way that she never did. I knew, deep down, on my wedding day, that I was doing it for the wrong reasons. Because she was pregnant."

"And can you honestly say that you aren't offering to marry me _because _I've just given birth to our son? That you're not trying to do the 'right' thing?"

"No! Not at all!"

"Look, I've been around bad marriages, like yours to Jessica and my parents. I've also seen it work beautifully. My dad and Sue, your aunt and uncle. But I never envisioned marriage as something I'd ever do. Hell, I never envisioned meeting the love of my life and having a baby with him within a year of meeting him either. But I didn't have much control over the latter. I do have control over whether we get married, however, and I'm just not sure."

"So, you're in love with me and you want to be with me forever, but you're not prepared to do it legally?" Edward could hear a little bitterness in his response.

"I promise that I will be with you forever. I want to raise our son and Alice together. I need you, baby. I just don't need a piece of paper or the circus of a wedding to prove it."

"We're going to have to agree to disagree about this one, angel. I'm just going to have to try to change your mind. I've always believed that when you find the one you want to spend your life with, you get married. That's what I was always taught. And even though I got it wrong with Jessica, I'll never regret marrying her because of Alice. And if you marry me, I promise that I'd show you every day that it was the right thing to do."

"We'll see, baby. We'll see." Bella replied, before kissing him soundly.

"I mean it. I'm just going to keep asking you."

"Well I guess I'm going to have to get used to hearing you ask, aren't I? Because I'm always going to be with you. Only you."

-cc-

**AN: So, that's the last regular chapter... what did you think? I suspect that quite a few of you lovely people won't be so happy with Bella at the end of this chapter, but please have faith in me! All the loose ends will be tied up in the two-part epilogue, the first part of which I'll post on Sunday. **

**CC xxx**


	20. Chapter 20

**AN: Hi everyone! **

**As I expected, there were mixed reactions to Bella's decision at the end of the last chapter. Some understood, others were mad at her. Lots of positivity about Baby Leo's name!**

**As I promised at the end of the last chapter, all the loose ends will be tied up in the epilogue, and there will be a future-take as well.**

**Thank you all for your reviews! I wasn't expecting so many given it was BD2 opening weekend! I loved it by the way- although the battle scenes really got my heart pumping!**

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 20**

**Epilogue 1**

Five years went by in the blink of an eye.

Almost exactly two years after Leo was born, Bella and Edward welcomed a second son into the world. Edward Nicholas Cullen, called Ned for short, had his father's piercing green eyes and a similar unruly mane of hair, except it was the exact colour of melted chocolate. Whereas Leo looked like Edward with his mother's brown eyes, Ned looked more like Bella with Edward's eyes. Both boys were 'handsome little heartbreakers' according to their grandparents Charlie and Sue. Their 'Gruncle' Carlisle and 'Grauntie' Esme totally agreed. Leo was a natural born musician, who, at age five, was already playing the piano like a mini-virtuoso. Unlike Edward, Leo loved to perform. Ned was already showing a great aptitude for numbers and loved building blocks.

Both boys adored their big sister Alice. She in turn loved them dearly, the fear of being cast aside being well and truly quashed by the positivity, support and care Bella and Edward showed her every day. It wasn't all plain sailing. Alice had gone through periods of feeling insecure, especially when she first joined The Royal Ballet School full-time and found herself surrounded by dancers who matched, or in some cases usurped her skills. Used to being the best, she struggled in the bigger pond at first.

At the same time, Bella had just given birth to Ned and everybody in the household was affected by the lack of sleep. Alice became irritable and cranky, snapping at Bella in particular. Bella, who had inherited the gift of patience from Charlie, managed to keep her cool and after some careful observation, spotted that Alice was skipping meals and losing weight. She was terrified that she would not be able to keep up with the other dancers, quite a few of whom used extreme measures to keep weight off, unless she was thinner. She was also scared that she would lose her place at ballet school and that Edward and Bella would be disappointed with her. Bella quickly nipped Alice's behaviour in the bud by reassuring her that they only wanted her to be happy and demonstrating that she danced better when she was properly nourished. Alice began eating again and her performance quality improved.

Bella formed a financial services company, CSC (it stood for Clearwater Swan Cullen), and she and her small team of three assistants spent every January and February doing Volturi Industries' yearly review. Edward's music store continued to do well. The summer after Leo was born, the grumpy old man who owned the units upstairs and next door died. Edward and Bella bought them both.

They used the upstairs unit to expand the music store, adding a percussion and wind instruments showroom and expanding the office space so they could have a team dedicated to the growing online sales side of the business. Edward also continued composing music and had produced a collection of modern piano concertos simply entitled 'Family.' It was due to be published in the New Year, and the pianists with London Philharmonic Orchestra had already expressed an interest in performing it.

Not content with setting up a finance company and doing Volturi Industries' review, Bella took over the other unit they'd bought, next door to the shop, and turned it into a branch of the Clear Swan Deli-Cafe, using Sue's successful formula. Charlotte joined her as a partner, finding herself more suited to working with food than with musical instruments. She never did return to acting professionally but found herself happier for it. Instead she ran an amateur dramatics group, which satisfied her need to act, whose performances at Clear Swan were a local highlight. The cafe did extremely well, and Charlotte and Bella were thinking of opening another London branch, although hadn't yet decided where.

Sue and Charlie, meanwhile, were about to retire. Emily bought into the Manchester Clear Swan cafes and became a partner. Leah, Seth, Sam and Jake also became partners, but silent ones. Leah and Jake had gotten married and after three years of trying for a baby, finally had Vanessa the previous year. Seth was a geography teacher at an inner city high school in Manchester and had just moved in with his girlfriend Rebecca. He and Edward were particularly close and spent hours on the phone each week.

Bella had sent Renee announcements about the births of Leo and Ned, and Renee had emailed to congratulate her. Now Bella and Renee sent emails once or twice a year, but they had no other contact. Renee had told Bella of her estrangement from Jessica and the reasons why; Bella told Renee of her relationship with Edward. Renee told Bella about Jessica's marriage to Marcus Volturi and her subsequent reconciliation with her older daughter, because Renee and Phil did not want to lose Marcus as a friend and more importantly, a backer for their businesses. Bella made no comment on the subject; she remained adamant that until Jessica started acting like a mother to Alice, she would have nothing to do with her. Marcus Volturi innately understood this and never asked Bella to reconsider; he drew a distinct line between his business and his personal life.

Charlotte and Peter, and Rosalie and Emmett, had gotten married in a double wedding ceremony two years earlier. Both Charlotte and Rosalie had ended up pregnant following their honeymoons, both with twins. Charlotte and Peter were proud parents to Benjamin and Mia Whitlock, whereas Rosalie and Emmett had Jackson and Samantha McCarty. Rosalie had just started the corporate litigation branch of Cullen and Associates, and Emmett, who was a trained corporate lawyer, quit Ernst and Young to join her.

Rosalie and Emmett had lived together in Rosalie's maisonette in Battersea until they discovered they were expecting, when they decided to buy somewhere big enough for their new arrivals. Rosalie found herself struggling to sell the property because of the economic downturn but didn't want to rent it out to unknown tenants. Jasper, by then in medical school at Imperial College, offered to move in and pay his sister rent.

Carlisle and Esme were talking about retirement, but unlike Charlie and Sue who were keen to get started, they were still enjoying their work. Carlisle had become a Professor of Surgery at Imperial College as well continuing as a practising surgeon. The first time he gave a lecture to his son's class, Jasper cringed, but had to admit that his father was a great teacher. Esme's law firm continued to thrive, especially when Rosalie added the corporate branch; they often referred each other clients. Esme loved her work and wasn't quite ready to let go.

By the age of nineteen, Alice had completed the Royal Ballet School's three year training programme and immediately joined the main company. She was fast becoming one of their darlings. She had proven to them, time and again, that she could handle any part they asked her to take on and just six weeks after joining the main company was awarded a major part in their summer performance of Swan Lake.

Alice had moved out of Edward and Bella's house in Little Venice after two years at the Royal Ballet School, at the age of eighteen. After six miserable months sharing a house with other dancers, enduring their daily dramas and finding it too intense, she was on the point of moving home when Rosalie suggested she share the maisonette with Jasper.

Alice and Jasper, who were aged nineteen and twenty respectively, were still very much together, and their family were still very much unaware of their relationship. So when Rosalie suggested that they become housemates, they almost laughed at the irony and the convenience. Alice moved in the very next week. The experience of living together could have broken them up. It didn't. If it was even possible, they fell even more in love. They became even closer. And after six months of sharing a home, Jasper asked Alice to be his forever, to be his officially.

Alice and Jasper didn't want to hide their love anymore. They wanted to get through the hurdle of telling the rest of the family about their relationship, and then build their life together, with or without the Cullens' approval. But before they dropped their bombshell, they wanted to confirm their commitment to each other, so they made a decision.

Alice and Jasper were eloping.

It was nearly Christmas. Alice had sprained her ankle whilst training back in early November. She had been ordered by the Royal Ballet's physiotherapist to miss the Christmas Showcase Performances and was not allowed back on the stage until the New Year. She and Jasper decided to make the most of the time off and decided to get married in an old coaching inn at Gretna Green on 20th December. They were then going to have a couple of days of alone time at the Cullen family cottage in the Lake District before Esme and Carlisle, and Bella, Edward, Leo and Ned descended for the Christmas holidays. On Christmas Day, they would tell the family.

"Ready Bubbles?"

"Definitely. Ready Zippy?"

"Definitely. In case I forget, you look so unbelievably beautiful, sweetheart."

Alice was wearing a knee-length long-sleeved cream lace dress with a matching faux fur jacket to protect her against the bitter Scottish wind. In her dark indigo-black dyed hair she wore a headband jewelled with amethysts; in her hand she held a small bouquet of white roses and wild Scottish heather. Jasper was dressed in a grey three piece suit with an amethyst-coloured lining and an amethyst-coloured tie. His buttonhole was a white rose and a sprig of heather pulled from Alice's bouquet.

"And you are the most handsome man in the world today, my darling." She replied. Jasper kissed her softly and rubbed his thumb over her amethyst and diamond gold engagement ring; it was the first time she'd ever worn it in public.

"Are yous ready?" The old registrar asked in a rough, strong Scottish accent.

"Yes sir."

"No family or friends wi' ye?"

"No, sir. Just the witnesses you kindly agreed to provide."

"Very well then."

The ceremony was short. Both Alice and Jasper shed tears as they repeated the simple, traditional vows, promising to love and cherish each other forever, no matter what obstacles they faced. When the registrar pronounced them husband and wife, Jasper encircled one arm around Alice's waist and drew her close before tilting her chin up with his finger.

"Forever Bubbles. No matter what."

"Forever Zippy."

Jasper slowly brought his lips down to meet hers, and kissed his wife.

-cc-

Marriage remained an awkward topic of conversation for Edward and Bella. He never gave up asking. He asked her to marry him every time his birthday, her birthday or their anniversary, which they celebrated on 23rd December, rolled around. Each time he offered her with Elizabeth's antique engagement ring- a single two-carat round cut diamond, bezel-set in a halo of black onyx, set in a white gold band. He had asked her in a hundred different ways, but each time, Bella had still said no.

However, deep down, Bella was warming to the idea and was regretting her initial stubbornness. The first time she doubted her decision was when Ned was born, and the midwife had insisted that his baby bracelet said 'Baby Boy Swan' instead of 'Baby Boy Cullen' because Bella's surname was Swan not Cullen. She had come round to Edward's view of marriage as a declaration of their love for one another to the world. She came to loathe being referred to as Edward's girlfriend or partner. Whenever they went out or were introduced to other people, either Edward or Bella (and frequently both of them) would end up getting hit on despite being clearly together with children, because apparently, unless they each possessed a significant piece of jewellery, they were fair game.

Bella spent countless hours thinking about why she had been so resistant to the idea of marrying Edward, who was so clearly the love of her life. She could not come up with any clear reasoning, lightning bolt or Eureka moment that could explain her reticence. She put it down to a combination of things- the early failure of her parents' marriage, the suddenness of her and Edward falling in love and Leo's arrival, her rapid change from full-time career woman to mother, her deep-seated conditioning as someone who gave all of herself but didn't believe that she was worthy of receiving the same in return. She discussed the last point with Sue, who gently pointed out that perhaps, deep down, Bella didn't believe herself worthy of permanent love, because the person who was first supposed to have provided it, her mother Renee, had abandoned her when she was very young and vulnerable, at a time when Bella's long-term memories were just starting to develop.

It made sense to Bella and she found herself more accepting of Edward's assertions about the importance of marriage. It took a long time, five years, but finally, Bella had come to a decision. She was ready to be Edward's wife, and on their anniversary, in just three days, she was planning to tell him.

"Ma!"

"Mummy!"

Her two little boys ran into the Clear Swan Cafe with Edward following close behind.

"Boys!" Bella came out from around the counter and bent down to greet her sons with hugs and kisses. "How was Santa?" Edward had taken their sons to the Santa's Grotto at the Westfield London Mall whilst finishing off his Christmas shopping.

"Cool!" Leo exclaimed, waving a plastic bag with Santa's face on it. "Santa gave us each a present and told us to put it under the tree!"

"I thinks mine's new blocks!" Ned told his mother. "Or ice-cream! Coulds be ice-cream!" He was a little obsessed with ice-cream.

"Oh, Neddy, I think it would melt if it was ice-cream, kiddo!" Bella laughed. She turned to Edward who was slightly red-faced and looking frazzled. "And how was it for you, baby?"

"Tedious. Long. Painful." Edward muttered. He had hated the hectic and crowded shopping mall, which was even worse than normal in the week leading up to Christmas. Bella had told him not to leave his shopping to the last minute and that the mall would be crazy busy but he hadn't heeded her warning. "You are officially allowed to say 'I told you so!' angel!"

"I would but it would be like kicking a dying donkey. You should see your face!" Bella ambled up to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently. Six years since their first night together, and Bella truly was even more in love with Edward than ever before. "Boys, sit down with Daddy and I'll join you with some drinks in a few minutes."

"OK Mummy!" Leo replied for him and his brother. "Please can we have hot chocolate? We asked Daddy if we could have some at the Stars-becks but the line was really long and the counter ladies looked really mean."

"No problem, Little One." Leo grinned, picked up Bella's hand and kissed it, in an exact copy of one of his father's favourite gestures.

"Son, you're stealing my moves!" Edward laughed.

"I learned it from the best, Daddy! That's you."

Bella untangled herself from Edward, ruffled her sons' heads and went behind the counter, where Charlotte and Kebi, one of their baristas, were standing.

"Kebi, please could you make two winter spiced lattes, one decaf, one no cream, and two lukewarm mini hot chocolates in paper cups for the boys?"

"Sure thing, B."

"Bella, why don't you and Edward head up north early?" Charlotte suggested out of the blue. "Go up, chill out, relax. You know that you're going to need your energy come January when you go back to Volturi and are working those ridiculous hours."

"You sure?" Bella was desperate to get up to the cottage in the Lake District already.

"I'm sure. I can manage the shop tomorrow, and Kate's going to do the remaining three days to Christmas." Charlotte replied, referring to the cafe's assistant manager.

"When are you all heading to Manchester?"

"First thing on the 22nd. If we hadn't promised Pete's parents and Emmett's parents that we'd spend the holidays in Manchester, we'd have loved to have come to the cottage for Christmas too. So make sure you enjoy it on our behalf!"

"B, drinks are done." Kebi interrupted.

"Lottie, you are the best! Thank you!" Bella kissed Charlotte on the cheek, thanked Kebi and took the tray of drinks over to Edward and the boys who were playing games on Edward's iPad.

"You look very smiley, angel! What's up?" Bella sat down and passed the boys their drinks.

"Charlotte is ordering us to the cottage early, baby. What do you say? We've done all the shopping now. All we have to do is finish the packing tonight and we could be away in the morning."

"H-E-L-L yes!" Edward kissed her on the temple. "Boys, we're going to go to the cottage tomorrow, OK?" They raised their heads in unison, beaming. They loved the Lakes.

"We go Lake?" Ned asked excitedly.

"We're going up early?" Leo echoed.

"That's right!"

"Lissy coming too?" Ned pressed, using his nickname for Alice.

"She's going to meet us there later in the week."

"Yay!" The boys chorused, high-fiving each other.

-cc-

The next morning, bright and early at 7am, Edward and Bella loaded up their Volvo XC90 with their luggage, presents, toys to keep Leo and Ned amused and some groceries.

"I still can't get hold of Alice." Edward said as he strapped the boys into their car seats. "Maybe we should swing by the maisonette..."

"No, baby. It's really out of the way when we're heading north. Alice did say that she was having a crazy week with physiotherapy and meetings with the company's choreographer." Bella replied. "We've left her a voicemail and I've emailed her to tell her our plans. She'll call when she's got a spare moment."

"I guess. I suppose that's why she was going to make her own way up to the Lake District this year, because her schedule is so erratic." Edward couldn't help but worry though. He liked to talk to her every day. If he had his way Alice would never have left home, but he couldn't deny that she needed to spread her wings a little. She had grown into a beautiful, elegant young woman who was fast rising up the ranks at the Royal Ballet. There were no words for how proud he was of her.

Five hours later, they arrived at the cottage. The journey had gone very smoothly considering the boys' excitement. Edward parked the car in the large driveway that the cottage shared with its neighbour. There was one other car, a white Fiat 500 with a car hire company sticker on it.

"I thought Carlisle and Esme said that the other cottage was going to be empty this Christmas." Bella said, observing the car as she let the boys out.

"Guess the neighbours changed their mind."

Edward unlocked the cottage door and the boys ran in ahead. Leo went to the loo while Ned ran around, ending up opening the door to the downstairs bedrooms.

"Ned, be careful!" Bella called. "No running in the house."

Whilst Edward started to unload the car, Bella turned on the kettle to make some tea. As she looked around the kitchen, she spotted a saucepan and frying pan sat by the side of the sink, clearly used recently. She ran her hand over the radiator. It was warm. She looked in the fridge. It should have been empty save a couple of jars of jam and mayonnaise. Instead, it held a selection of groceries, including an open bottle of champagne and half a small but decadent-looking chocolate cake topped with chocolate roses.

"You OK, angel? What are you looking for in the fridge?"

"Edward," Bella dropped her voice to a whisper. "Someone's been here!" She swung open the fridge door to show him the groceries.

"Shit! Where are the boys!" He asked urgently. Leo emerged from the loo and went to the living room but Ned was not in their line of sight.

"Ned ran that way." Bella started moving towards the bedrooms but before she had moved more than a couple of steps, Ned emerged, carrying his stuffed Pooh Bear, which he had left behind on their last trip to the cottage, the weekend of Bella's birthday three months earlier. Poor Ned had cried for the best part of a day when he realised. "Oh, Ned!"

"Ma, I founds Pooh!"

"That's great, kiddo." She crouched to hug him, her heart still hammering in her chest.

"Ma, we gots to be shhhh!" Ned put a finger to his lips. "Lissy sleeping."

"Sorry, bud, what was that?" Edward asked. "Lissy's sleeping? Alice is here?"

"Daddy, quiet! Lissy sleeping with Japsta." He let go of Bella and scampered off to the living room to show his brother his retrieved toy.

Bella and Edward looked at each other confused. After checking to see that the boys were occupied for a minute, they ventured down to the bedrooms. It didn't take them long to find Alice and Jasper, still asleep after a long night of consummating their marriage, wrapped up in each others' arms, naked under the duvet.

"What the..." Edward started to exclaim. Bella clamped a hand over his mouth.

"Don't. Let's leave them to wake up and we'll get to the bottom of this then." She whispered. She led him out of the room and shut the door to the corridor.

"Mummy is it true that Alice is here, and Jasper too?" Leo asked excitedly. "Can we wake her up?"

"Uh, they need to sleep, Little One. I'm sure they'll be up soon. She's going to be really surprised to see us!" She tried to sound upbeat but she was worried, baffled, shocked. _Oh, Alice. What's going on?_

"Oh, OK."He replied cheerfully. "I'm hungry, Mummy. Can I have a cookie?"

"If you hang on a couple of minutes, my little Lion Man, lunch is on the way." Leo grinned.

"Grrr!" He growled playfully at her and made a claw action with his hands. Leo did it every time Bella called him her 'Little Lion Man' and it got her giggling every time because it was so unbelievably adorable.

Bella opened up her arms. Leo hugged her, and she kissed him on the forehead before he ran back to the living room to pull toys out of the toy chest.

Bella turned to Edward who was rigid, standing stock still. She grabbed him by the hand and pulled him into the kitchen area. He started pacing and tugging at his hair.

"Bella, tell me I didn't just see my daughter and _my cousin _in bed together? _Sleeping_ together? Looking freshly f... you know!"

"I wish I could, baby!"

"Did you have any idea that this was going on?"

"No! If I did, do you think I'd have been so keen for her to move into the maisonette with him?" Bella replied. "I thought it was such a good idea when Rosalie suggested it."

"It's so..." Edward shuddered and started pacing the room. "They grew up together like brother and sister their whole lives. Are they even allowed to be... you know?" He couldn't bring himself to make reference to sex and his daughter in the same sentence. "Is it not illegal?"

"They're second cousins. You can legally be with your cousin, so second cousins are legal too." Bella told him.

"How are you so calm about this?" Edward asked. "I'm all over the place!"

"Look, I'm just as confused as you are, and I'm upset that they've not been honest with us. But I don't think this is something that's come from out of the blue, even though we've been oblivious." She explained, pulling out the ingredients to make sandwiches for lunch from the boxes of groceries they'd brought with them.

"What do you mean?"

"Neither of them voiced any concerns at all when Rosalie suggested Alice move into the maisonette. She suggested it, we agreed with her, Jasper and Alice said yes, Alice moved as soon as she possibly could, quietly with absolutely no fuss. When have you ever known her to do anything without either complete exuberance or total and utter reluctance?"

"True."

"They planned this alone time. These groceries have been delivered." Bella pointed to a receipt on top of the fridge. "Ordered a month ago. They hired a car. Alice told us weeks ago that she was busy and that she'd make her own way up here."

"So what do we do now?"

"We make our boys lunch. We eat it and we wait for them to emerge and explain."

-cc-

Alice woke up surrounded by the cocoon of Jasper's warm, hard, lean body. Since she moved into the maisonette, they had shared a bed almost every night and fooled around quite a lot, but they had both decided to wait until they were married before they actually had sex. Now, being in his arms after they'd made love felt different, more intimate. _We're connected in every way possible now. _

"Mmm... why are you wriggling, _wife?_" Jasper mumbled into her shoulder. Alice giggled as his hands roamed her body and glanced at the bedside alarm clock.

"Well _husband, _we've been in bed for the best part of eighteen hours!"

"Best night of my life." He breathed, looking up at her. "Definitely worth waiting for." He kissed her nose and lips. "Are you OK? Not too sore? Was I gentle enough?"

Alice felt like jelly. It was a delicious feeling. There was a little soreness but it was overtaken by the sheer bliss of making love for the first time. Jasper had been incredibly gentle in her mind. They had laughed and cried and gasped and moaned as they moved together.

"Perfect!" Kiss. "Amazing!" Kiss. "Wow!" Kiss. "And each time, it got better! That being said, I am starving!"

"Actually, now you mention it... why don't we refuel?"

"Yes and then, perhaps, return for round... what is it, round four?"

"Five, if you count that thing you did with your mouth..."

"Well, if we're counting things we did with our mouths..." Alice giggled again. Her stomach rumbled loudly, however, interrupting any further plans for bedroom activities.

Dressed in Jasper's dress shirt from their wedding the day before, Alice wandered into the kitchen, a huge grin on her face. She was so wrapped up in her happy hormone bubble that she didn't immediately notice Edward, Bella, Leo and Ned sitting at the table finishing lunch.

"Lissy!" Ned yelled when he spotted her. "You wake!" Alice, who was about to open the fridge for the chocolate cake, froze, and slowly turned around to see Edward and Bella, arms crossed, eyebrows raised, looking at her. Leo and Ned came hurtling out from their seats to greet her.

"Hi boys! Neddy, Leo!" They collided with her bare legs. Alice was grateful that Jasper's shirt came down almost to her knees. She knelt down and hugged them both.

"Bubbs!" Jasper called, on his way into the kitchen. "Please could you pop the kettle on? I really feel like some coffee..." He entered the kitchen, dressed only in his boxers, and started at the sight of Alice hugging the boys. "Err... hi?"

"Japsta!" Ned left Alice's embrace and went to hug Jasper's leg. "I founds Pooh!"

"Hey, kiddo. That's great."

"Jasper, why aren't you wearing any clothes? Aren't you cold? Mummy says that you're 'posed to wear more clothes in wint-ner time, not less! Alice, why did you and Jasper need to sleep for so long? Ned said you were sleeping in the same bed. Where you having a sleepover? Why didn't you tell us you were coming early?" Leo asked, relentless with his inquisitiveness.

"Boys, why don't you go choose a DVD from the box we brought? Mummy and I need to talk to Alice and Jasper for a few minutes, and they need to have some lunch." Edward said, keeping his eyes trained on Alice who was now hugging herself with worry.

"OK. Come on Ned." Leo, who loved movies, especially their soundtracks, grabbed his brother's hand and took him to the living room.

Bella got up.

"Why don't you both get dressed, and then we can talk? I'll get some sandwiches ready for you. Was it coffee you wanted, Jasper? And for you, Alice?"

"Yes please, Bella." He replied in a small voice.

"Tea for me, please Mama B." Alice added before grabbing Jasper's hand and leading him back through to their bedroom.

"Bloodyfuckingcowshit!" Alice muttered as she changed out of Jasper's shirt and into leggings and a Royal Ballet sweatshirt.

"Couldn't agree more." Jasper said as he threw on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved Ramones t-shirt.

"How is it we came so close to telling them on our own terms, only for them to find out like this?"

"Guess our luck had to run out some time." He clasped her hand and pulled her into his arms.

"Forever, no matter what. Right?" Alice said. Jasper nodded. "That starts now, darling."

They walked back through to the kitchen hand in hand and sat down at the table in front of their sandwiches and drinks. Edward was sat curled around Bella for comfort, his hand tight against her waist.

"Thank you Bella, Dad." Alice whispered. An awkward quiet descended as Edward tried to find the ability to talk without yelling.

"How long? Since before you moved into the maisonette, Alice?" Alice looked up into her father's hurt dark green eyes.

"Yes, Daddy." Alice swallowed hard. "A lot longer."

"How long exactly?"

"Alice and I have been involved longer than you and Bella have, Edward." Jasper answered, sensing that Alice was struggling to contain her tears. "Over six and a half years."

"What! ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"Edward, calm down." Bella stroked his thigh.

"But you were just kids! You're still just kids! You're _related!_"

"Dad, we fell in love. Even though we were young, that's how we felt. We tried to resist it. Jasper and I avoided each other for months until we realised that we were kidding ourselves. That we couldn't _not_ be together, even though we risked hurting our loved ones. Sound familiar?" A tearful Alice looked pointedly at her father's and Bella's hands, which were entwined and pressed against his chest. "You and Mama B couldn't _not _be together either, and just look how happy you are now."

"We're not just fooling around. We've both had numerous opportunities to pursue other relationships but we haven't because we know that we belong together. I love her with all my heart." Jasper added.

"Alice, Jasper, those rings on your fingers... are they what I think they are?" Bella asked quietly. She hadn't said much as she was trying to absorb their revelations, and had just noticed the rings.

Jasper took Alice's left hand in his and ran his thumb over her engagement and wedding rings. Edward hadn't noticed until Bella pointed it out.

"No..."

"Yes. Dad, Mama B, Jasper and I got married yesterday. We were going to tell you all about it on Christmas Day because we're sick of hiding. We want to be together openly."

"I really hope that you can forgive us for our subterfuge, because we love you and our whole family so much. We hope that in time you'll be able to accept us as a married couple, but we're determined that we won't be broken apart, even if it means keeping our distance from you, even if it means being disowned." Jasper said.

Edward and Bella both sat in shock for a minute. Alice, unable to take their lack of reaction, started crying openly.

"Maybe it's best if we leave. Just let me spend a few minutes with my brothers and we'll go." She said in between sobs. She got up and dried her eyes. Jasper followed her to the living room.

"Edward, she's your daughter, _our _daughter. All right, so they haven't been honest but..."

"She's married, at nineteen? I got married too young..."

"And for the wrong reasons. She's married a boy we know is good and honest and pure of heart, who has excellent prospects in life and with who she is quite clearly deeply in love. He just happens to be your cousin." Bella started to cry too, mainly at the thought of losing Alice, but also because the whole situation made her feel guilty for denying Edward marriage for so long. "Please. We can't lose her. We can't."

Bella's plea pierced his heart. _Bella's right. She's my baby. My princess. She's always done the right thing. Maybe this can work out._ Without saying any more, Edward nodded, kissed Bella on the temple and they went to the living room.

"...So you might not see me and Jasper for a while, but believe me, I love you two so much." Alice was holding Ned in her arms.

"Lissy, no! You cants go! I just founds Pooh. We gots to play with him!"

"I really wish I could stay, Neddy, but..." A little sob broke through and Jasper rubbed her back.

"Why do you have to go? Where are you going? I don't like it!" Leo cried, hugging himself to Alice as well. "It's Christmas. We're 'posed to spend it together!"

"Nobody's going anywhere!" Edward cried. "Alice, Jasper, you're not going anywhere."

"Dad, Mama B?"

"Sweetie, you and Jasper surprised us. We need some time to get our head round things, but please, both of you, never doubt our love for you. And please, don't leave." Bella told them.

"You mean it?"

"We mean it." Edward replied, holding out his hand to his daughter. Still carrying Ned and still with Leo clinging to her leg, Alice gripped it tightly. Edward pulled her towards him and hugged all three of his children at once.

"So what happens next?" Jasper asked.

Edward glanced at the television screen, which was showing the beginning of Shrek.

"We're all going to watch Shrek together and later, perhaps figure out how we're going to tell Carlisle, Esme and the rest of the family."

-cc-

**So...Edward and Bella know about Alice and Jasper... how did you think they'd find out? Any thoughts about Leo and Ned? As always I would love to hear what you think!**

**The second part of the epilogue will go out on Tuesday night or Wednesday, depending on work and stuff (ahem...boy stuff!).**

**CC xxx**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hi everyone! I got home just in time to post this! Yay!**

**Wow, such passionate responses to the last chapter! Thank you so much for reviewing and sending me messages. I hope that the second half of the epilogue will answer some questions and assuage some people, and tie up (nearly) all the loose ends. I'm marking the story as complete tonight, but there will be a future-take, and I'll publish that at some point between now and Sunday, depending on my crazy work-schedule. **

**This chapter is longer than my usual chapters as a lot happens! I hope that doesn't bug too many people, but I couldn't decide on a good point at which to split it. **

**As ever, please let me know what you think! **

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 21**

**Epilogue- Part 2**

That evening, after Alice had given them their bath, Leo and Ned asked for Jasper to tell them a bedtime story. He told them exciting stories adapted from his favourite Western and war movies, complete with voices and arm movements. The boys loved them. Meanwhile Bella was on the phone, asking Carlisle and Esme to come up to the cottage a day early, and Rosalie, Emmett, Charlotte and Peter to take a detour to the cottage instead of going to Manchester straight from London. She and Edward had talked to Alice and Jasper at length about telling the rest of the Cullens. In the end they decided that it would be best to tell them all at the same time, as soon as possible, in a Cullen Family Conference.

Alice found Edward in the garden, bundled up in his coat, cradling a brandy glass in his large gloved hands. She wrapped a thick tartan blanket around her shoulders and went to talk to him.

"Dad." He turned round and patted the spot next to him on the bench overlooking the pond.

"Hey princess."

"So I'm still your princess?" She asked in a small voice. Edward draped an arm around her shoulder and hugged her to his side.

"You will always be my princess, but now, you're also Jasper's queen." He replied, a little sadly.

"I'm so sorry, Dad. We really thought this was the best way. That if you saw that we were 100% committed to each other, it would it easier for you to accept our relationship."

"I understand your logic, Alice, but I'm just so... right now, I feel like I've lost something. I feel this grief inside me."

"Grief?" Alice's eyes watered both at the bitter cold and at the depth the word conveyed.

"You're not my little girl anymore. And I feel like I've lost out on this last part of your growing up. The part where I watched you start dating, and warned your boyfriend to watch out for your curfew or where he put his hands if he wanted to hold onto his balls. I'll never get to do that. And then there's the bit where I hear you gush about your fiancé and get to meet him and then get to walk you down the aisle. I'll never get to do that either." Edward glugged a bit more of his brandy.

"Oh Dad..." Alice cried. "I never thought about it like that! We were only planning for the possibility that you would want nothing to do with us!"

"See, that's something else that really gets to me. What did I do for you to have so little faith in me? When have you _not_ been able to come to me, talk through your problems? I've always liked to think that you and I had this amazingly strong bond, that you would tell me anything. But I guess was wrong."

"We _are_ that strong Dad. My love for Jasper, is just..."

"...stronger." Edward finished. "You couldn't help but fall in love even though you knew you weren't supposed to. You couldn't help it. It was bigger than you and he."

"Yes! Dad, that's exactly it!" Alice exclaimed. Edward turned and looked at her, and waited for the penny to drop, and after a moment, it did. "Oh my God, of course you'd have understood. That's what it was like for you and Mama B!"

"Yes, exactly. All you had to do was talk to me, princess. You didn't need to be deceitful. I'll admit, I wouldn't have been happy about my teenage daughter and my teenage cousin falling for each other but I would have... I would have..." Edward paused a moment. "OK, I actually have no idea exactly what I would have done. All I know is that I would have supported you and Jasper to do things the right way."

Alice, overwhelmed by the realisation that she had completely underestimated Edward's love for her and how upset he was at not being able to complete his last rites of passage as her father, burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, Dad! D-d-do you think you'll ever be able to forgive me?"

"You already are forgiven, my princess. Just make sure that I'm the first person you tell when you make Principal Dancer, and when you buy a house, and when you become pregnant, and when you get your first grey hair and..."

"I promise, Dad. From now on, you'll always be the first to know."

-cc-

When the rest of the Cullen family arrived in convoy the next lunchtime, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary at first. Edward was at the bottom of the garden playing football with Leo and Ned. Emmett and Pete immediately went to join in with the game. Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Charlotte walked into the kitchen to see Bella making a big pot of winter vegetable soup and baking homemade bread. It was only when they hugged Bella did they see some strain on her face.

"Bella, are you all right? What's going on?" Esme asked.

"Thank you for coming up early. Let's have lunch and get the kids settled, and then we need to have a talk, all of us." Bella glanced over to the other side of the kitchen where Alice and Jasper were walking in. Like Bella they seemed apprehensive, nervous.

"Gruncle 'Lisle! Grauntie Smay!" Ned ran in, keen to see them. "I gots a goal!"

"Did you? Well done!" Carlisle picked the little boy up.

"And I founds Pooh!"

"Oh, where was he?" Esme asked. Ned reached for her and she took him from Carlisle.

"In Lissy's room. But she didn'ts find him 'cause she ands Japsta was sleeping. I founds him all by myself."

"Well, aren't you clever?" Everyone apart from Bella looked at Alice and Jasper confused. The pair said nothing, but looked embarrassed. Suddenly the air in the room grew tense. Jasper and Alice were usually smiley and happy.

"As I said, we need to talk later." Bella said.

The nervous, tight atmosphere amongst the adults continued during lunch. Conversation mainly centred on Christmas activities, like finding a tree and decorating it, and going to Christmas carols services. After the meal, Bella got the boys settled watching Toy Story, knowing that after a morning of playing football followed by soup for lunch, they would be asleep soon. Rosalie and Charlotte laid their sets of twins down in their cots in one of the spare rooms and turned the baby monitor on.

By the time they returned, Edward had made the tea and everyone was waiting to start the talking.

"OK, now that Bella's back, will you all please tell us what's going on?" Carlisle asked.

"Alice, Jasper?" Edward gestured towards them. Alice's bottom lip was already trembling.

"Forever, no matter what." Jasper whispered into her ear before clasping her hand. "Everyone. Alice and I have some news." He lifted their joined hands onto the table. There was a gasp as everyone spotted the wedding rings.

"Jasper and I got married the day before yesterday at Gretna Green. We're in love. We've been involved for several years."

"What? Are you joking?!" Rosalie exclaimed.

"Really? This isn't just a pre-Christmas prank?" Emmett echoed.

"No. We're serious. We're really sorry for deceiving you, but we wanted to show you that this isn't just a passing fancy for us. We want a life together." Jasper said.

"When did you both find out?" Esme asked, looking at Bella and Edward.

"Yesterday. We were as taken aback as you seem to be." Bella replied.

"I don't understand. You two have grown up almost like siblings. When did that... how did that change?" Charlotte asked.

"It happened slowly over the course of a year. Then the summer before Edward's divorce, we found out that our feelings were mutual. We tried to resist for ages, but our connection was too strong, and we couldn't deny any longer that we fit together perfectly." Jasper replied.

"We do! We really do. I love everything about him, and I know he feels the same way! There's literally nobody out there more perfect for him than me and vice versa. We couldn't not be together." Alice echoed.

"What about when you want children?" Rosalie asked quietly, gripping Emmett's hand under the table. "The risk of birth defects, they're higher when the mum and dad are related, right?" She glanced at Carlisle, whose face remained neutral.

"We've thought about that, and we're going to contact a genetic counsellor when we're ready, but we don't think that we'll be having them until we're around thirty-two." Jasper explained.

"Yes, because we think that will be the point where Jasper will finish his training to be a fully qualified psychiatrist, and I think that will be the time that I'll be either thinking of retiring from the stage to teach or that I'll be well-known enough as a dancer to have a year off without it affecting my career." Alice continued.

"If it turns out that we're not able to or that we shouldn't have children naturally, we're going to adopt." Jasper added.

"And you're still going to live in Rosalie's maisonette?" Esme asked.

"If you're not happy for us to stay, Rosie, then we're going to rent somewhere else together until we can both access our trust fund monies at twenty-one, and then we'll buy somewhere. We've been saving as much as possible for the past year, just in case. I also took out a student loan and put it in a high-interest savings account."

"Seems like you've really thought things through." Carlisle commented.

"We have. We're not just playing house. We really do want a life together. Our relationship is so precious that we're prepared to go it alone, but we don't want that. We don't want things to change, other than that you accept that we're together, forever."

"What if things start to go wrong? If you two split up...?" Carlisle pressed. "The stakes are huge. It could cause a huge divide in our family."

"We won't, Dad. We've been through the most difficult times and we've done it whilst keeping the relationship hidden. Each time our relationship has come out stronger. Getting married was the natural progression to affirm our love and promise each other a life together, forever."

Silence descended as everyone thought about Jasper's last statement. Finally, Bella could no longer contain the words on her heart.

"This family is incredibly special. You are the only people I've ever met apart from my dad and Sue who have such a capacity for love and goodness. I know it's going to take some getting used to, but I think that in time, there will come a point when we will think of you as husband and wife first, and cousins second."

"Thank you Mama B." Alice kissed her on the cheek. "I hope so."

"I mean it. It could have been easy for you all to see me as this home-wrecking slut who slept with her sister's husband, got knocked up and got her claws into Edward. Instead you saw how hopelessly we fell in love, and accepted me for the person I am. Seriously, Cullens rule."

"Oh, my love." Edward, who was sat next to Bella on the other side to Alice, tilted her face towards him and brushed away a runaway tear. "I honestly don't know how I lived without you."

"Edward, that's how I feel about you too. I love you. I love all of you Cullens, and..." she took a deep breath. "...I'm ready to be one."

"Bella, are you saying what I think you're saying?" He asked, hope soaring in his heart.

"My timing sucks. I mean, here we are sorting out how we feel about Alice and Jasper being married, but I mean it. I was going to ask you this tomorrow, but...please, Edward, marry me? Let me be your wife? Make me a Cullen?"

"Yes! YES! But only if you're sure! I'm happy enough with things as they are, if you're still not 100% about it."

"I'm sure. I want to be your wife, and I want us to be far more than 'happy enough. I've been a complete idiot, putting up barriers to marrying you and I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Maybe I don't feel like I deserve you and this wonderful life you've given me. But Jasper's right. I love you and want to show the world I'm only yours. Forever."

"Oh, angel..."

Edward ran both his hands into her hair and she slid onto his lap before he kissed her deeply.

They only separated when Emmett and Pete yelled, in chorus,

"GET A ROOM!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Bella apologised.

Wow, what an afternoon!" Esme exclaimed. "Carlisle and I thought this Christmas was going to be a quiet one. Yet, it's not even Christmas Day and we've found out that Alice and Jasper are married, that Bella's finally ready to marry Edward and what else? Oh, Pooh Bear has turned up!"

Everyone laughed.

"Jasper, Alice, whilst we wish that you'd told us about your feelings earlier, we respect your decisions. You've obviously thought things through. I'm not saying that it's going to be easy, because it won't be. Not everyone's going to be understanding, but we will stand by you and help you with any obstacles, in any way that we can." Carlisle stated. "Jasper, I love you son. You too, Alice. All we want is for you to be happy, and if you're happiest together, then so be it."

"I agree, kids." Esme said. "I just wish you had trusted that we wouldn't abandon you or cast you aside. I would have loved to have seen you get married."

"Mum, I'm sorry." Jasper said, hanging his head.

"You should be, you stupid-head!" Rosalie erupted. "The pair of you act like you're the only two people in the world that fell in love with someone off-limits, except that you have to take it that one step further and go and fucking get hitched! Without us!"

"Rosie, calm down, babe." Emmett caressed the back of her neck.

"Seriously, if we could accept Edward hooking up with Jessicow's cooler, prettier sister when he was still technically married, you should have realised that we would probably be OK with you two." Charlotte piped up.

"You're OK with us two?" Alice asked back.

"Puh-lease! What was it that Aunt Lizzie used to say? 'Jasper and my Alice are so cute! Like two peas in a pod!'" Charlotte mimicked Elizabeth's sweet, high voice perfectly. "I remember Jasper giving you his ice cream when he was three, because you dropped yours on the floor. And I remember when Jasper fell off the climbing frame age six, you ran over, hugged him and kissed him better. Aunt Lizzie was right."

"Yeah, she was." Rosalie said too, feeling calmer after her outburst. She leaned across the table and held out her hands to Alice and Jasper. "While you two have gone about this in a shitty way, believe me, we love you. Just don't fucking do it again. And don't even think about moving out of the maisonette. I'll never get tenants as obsessed with tidiness as you two."

"Done!"

-cc-

That night, after Rosalie and Emmett, and Charlotte and Peter had returned to Manchester, Carlisle and Esme double-checked that their door was shut, got into bed and finally talked about what was on their mind.

"What a day! I did not see it coming!"

"Not at all." Esme replied.

"Why do I get the feeling you're thinking about Elizabeth and Ed right now?"

"I am indeed."

"Should we tell Jasper and Alice one day, that they're possibly not blood relations?"

"I've been thinking about it all day. If we tell them, we'd have to tell Edward about the uncertainty of his parentage. Ed and Elizabeth were always adamant that they didn't want him to know."

"True. Ed was so thrilled that he and Elizabeth were back together and that she was pregnant that he didn't care that he might not be Edward's biological father. They were both adamant that he be raised as Ed's son."

"Yes, especially after that whole mess with Cynthia."

"Indeed. I think it's best to let sleeping dogs lie. What would it change, other than when Jasper and Alice plan to have children? There's no genetic disease on either the Cullen or Masen sides that I can think of, that would prevent them from having kids, right?"

"Right, my darling. I completely agree."

**Flashback: Forty-two years earlier. **

Ed Cullen nervously knocked on the door of the house in Little Venice he had, until a month earlier, shared with his wife Elizabeth. They had separated following several months of arguing, but Elizabeth had called him tearfully at the hospital, where he was staying in the doctors' rooms, saying that she wanted to talk.

They had been married for just a couple of months when things had started to go wrong. Elizabeth's parents, the Masens, who were becoming quite elderly, had become unable to care for her younger sister Cynthia and she had moved in with Ed and Elizabeth. Cynthia had been labelled 'backwards' by psychologists. She had epilepsy. She could read and write, but only to the level of a child of eight. She didn't seem to understand social situations in the same way as other people. She had a volatile temper, throwing tantrums like a toddler if she didn't get her way. As she grew older, she became prone to huge mood swings, elated for no reason one day and then so depressed she couldn't move the next.

Elizabeth was virtually the only person to whom Cynthia listened, but if she was at work in her research lab, Cynthia could cause chaos and nobody else could soothe her. Worse still, she detested Ed. She saw him as the person who had stolen her sister from the Masen family home. At first, when she was told that she would be living with Elizabeth, she was delighted because she thought that meant Ed was leaving. However when she realised that it meant that she would be living with both of them, the tantrum was epic.

Elizabeth had found herself torn between her husband and her little sister, who was twenty. The only thing that seemed to soothe Cynthia was being allowed to tinker with Ed's beloved grand piano, but she couldn't actually play and it distressed Ed greatly to hear Cynthia bash and bang at the keys of the beautiful instrument. Ed was a hugely talented pianist; he could have played professionally if he hadn't felt a calling to become a surgeon. Eventually they decided to hire a tutor for Cynthia in the form of Stefan Romanov, a Romanian pianist who taught in between gigs.

Cynthia adored Stefan; her piano playing and her behaviour soon improved. Ed and Elizabeth were delighted and they set about trying for a baby. However, after several months, Elizabeth was not pregnant and sex between them had started to become a chore. The stress started to show and they began bickering. Cynthia, meanwhile, had developed quite the crush on Stefan, who in turn had developed quite the crush on Elizabeth. He was spending more and more time at the Cullens' house, attempting to flirt with her, and Ed was consumed by jealousy.

By Carlisle and Esme's wedding, around fourteen months after their own, Ed and Elizabeth were barely speaking. Ed had gotten blindingly drunk during the reception and staggered around being obnoxious, flirting with the waitresses. Elizabeth had been mortified and they had an epic row the following day whilst Ed was hungover. Elizabeth ended up demanding that he move out. Ed tried to get her to change her mind, telling her that Stefan was poisoning her against him and that he was sorry, but Elizabeth felt so angry and humiliated that she didn't want to hear it. She had come to see Stefan as a confidant, and couldn't see that he was trying to seduce her.

Ed spent a miserable month living in the doctors' rooms at the hospital. Every day he called the house in Little Venice to try to speak to Elizabeth. Every day she or Cynthia put the phone down on him. He wrote letters. He didn't get a reply. So when his wife called, asking him to come to the house as soon as possible, he didn't hesitate. There were no words to describe how much he had missed her.

Elizabeth answered the door. She had lost weight and had clearly been crying.

"Hello."

"Hello, Ed." She beckoned him inside and into the music and reading room.

"No Cynthia?"

"She's visiting Mum and Dad with Siobhan." Elizabeth replied, referring to Cynthia's live-in care worker.

"Oh." Ed said, suddenly feeling nervous. "So, how have you been?"

"Terrible. I missed you."

"I missed you too, darling." He leant across and held her hand. "Please say that we can work things out."

"I want to, love. I really do. I love you so much, but it's not so simple. I know that Cynthia is difficult but she's my sister and I'm not going to kick her out or send her to an institution."

"And I don't want you to. I'm sorry I've not been as patient as I could have been. I guess I've been selfish, wanting you all to myself."

"It's understandable. I guess we both thought that we'd have more time just the two of us, but between Daddy's poorly heart and Mummy's arthritis, they just couldn't do it anymore. I don't want to be with anyone else but you. I want to have babies with you and grow old with you and live here with you. But I have a responsibility to Cynthia. I have to look after her until the point where I'm no longer capable."

"And I'm willing to try harder. I'll do anything. Whatever it takes for us to be happy together."

"I want that too."

"Elizabeth..." Ed scooted closer and pulled her into his arms. He brushed her dark auburn wavy hair from her face and kissed her lips softly. His wife melted into the kiss but then suddenly pulled away. "Lizzie?"

"Before we reconcile, there's something I need to tell you. It may change your decision about getting back together."

"Nothing can keep me away from you."

"You say that, but..." She started crying softly.

"Lizzie, please... what is it?"

"The night before last, Stefan was here giving Cynthia a late lesson. He ended up staying for dinner, and after Cynthia went to bed, we stayed up, finishing a bottle of wine." Elizabeth told him, wiping her wet cheeks.

"Lizzie... no..."

"I'm so sorry Ed! One bottle turned into three, and the next thing I knew I was waking up next to him wearing not very much!"

"You slept with Stefan?!"

"I didn't mean for it to happen! I don't have any feelings for him at all! He totally took advantage of me when I was upset. I was crying on his shoulder because I was missing you so much and somehow, he managed to turn it around, get me drunk and get me into bed."

"I knew that dick wanted you!"

"You were right. And I totally didn't see it! When I asked him to leave he was really unpleasant, really creepy." Elizabeth shuddered. "Needless to say I've fired him. I dread to think how Cynthia's going to take the news." She looked at Ed with her glistening big green eyes. "Please, Ed. I don't want anyone but you. I love you so much. Do you think you can forgive me?"

Ed answered her with a kiss.

"If you can forgive me, I can forgive you. I love you and I'm sorry, my darling."

"I'm sorry! I love you so much!" Elizabeth launched herself back at him and covered his face with kisses. Within minutes they were continuing their reconciliation in the bedroom.

-cc-

Exactly nine months later, Ed and Elizabeth welcomed Edward Anthony Cullen into the world. He looked nothing like the blond, classically handsome Ed, but he didn't have any of Stefan Romanov's darker Eastern European features either. He looked very much like Elizabeth, but Ed thought that he actually looked more like Cynthia. It was a difficult birth and Edward was born by Caesarean section. The obstetrician told them afterwards that it was likely Edward would be an only child and that they should consider it a miracle that Elizabeth conceived at all.

Cynthia was devastated when Stefan never returned. Elizabeth tried to explain on several occasions, but all she could see was that Stefan was gone and Ed had come back. She was assuaged to some extent when Elizabeth hired a new piano teacher, Liam Macleod, an Irishman who was a music teacher rather than a performer. He had experience working with children who had learning problems. He managed to unlock her abilities, and helped Elizabeth and Ed to manage some of her problem behaviours. When baby Edward came along, Liam suggested ways in which they could help Cynthia adjust. His ideas worked, and Cynthia was utterly smitten with her new nephew.

It seemed that things were finally settling down in Ed and Elizabeth's lives when one day, when baby Edward was around three months old, there was a knock at their door. It was Stefan.

"I hear you have baby! It is mine! I must see!"

"He's not your baby! He's _my _son!" Ed yelled back. "And if you don't go away, we will call the police."

"I go nowhere until I see baby and Elizabeth."

Elizabeth stood at the top of the stairs cradling baby Edward in her arms.

"Stefan, please leave. He's not your child."

"Elizabeth, please! I love you! We can be happy!"

"Bloody hell, she doesn't want you! If she wanted you, she wouldn't have gotten rid of you! She wants me! She loves me and that's _my_ boy!"

"Stefan, Ed's right. I never wanted you. If it wasn't for the three bottles of wine you gave me, I'd never have ended up in bed with you. It was a mistake, one I regret hugely. The only good thing to come out of it was that it made me realise how much I love Ed."

"No, no, no! You get brainwashed. You stay because of convention. Because you don't want to be divorcee. I can look after you. We can run away together and be happy! Elizabeth, I love you!"

"You're crazy! Please leave." Elizabeth reiterated. Baby Edward was upset by the noise and started fussing. She held him up and rocked him gently. "Before Cynthia realises you're here. I don't want you upsetting her."

Sadly it was too late. Cynthia had heard the heated exchange, when Stefan had declared his love for Elizabeth and suggested that the baby might be his.

She was devastated. For a year, Cynthia had harboured a fantasy starring Stefan as a knight in shining armour, who would see how well she could play the piano and come rescue her, in order to make her the princess of a castle. She had filled whole diaries full of writing about it. She had no idea that Stefan coveted Elizabeth, and suddenly he turned from a knight into a villain, yet another man who was trying to take Elizabeth away from her.

Upset and overwhelmed, she decided to run away. She packed a bag containing her favourite book, a picture version of The Wind in the Willows, a chocolate bar, her piano book and a jumper. She left a note in her childlike handwriting addressed to Ed and Elizabeth, saying that she was going back to her parents' house. Finally she snuck out of the back door into the rainy autumn night.

She never got to her parents' house.

The Masens and the Cullens searched high and low for Cynthia with the help of the police. They found her bag a week after she disappeared by the side of the River Thames at the Kew Bridge; the copy of The Wind in the Willows was missing. They trawled the water, but didn't find anything straight away. Two weeks after she went missing, her body was finally found a little way up the river at Putney by some rowers; the copy of The Wind in the Willows was tucked into her jacket. The police guessed that she had dropped it into the river by accident, gone after it and then drowned in the fast-flowing waters of the Thames.

Elizabeth was tormented by guilt. She got up and functioned only to look after Edward. If Cynthia was mentioned, she would shut down for a while. Ed's solution was to simply not talk about his sister-in-law, but he knew that Elizabeth needed to talk to someone and eventually got her to see a counsellor.

It helped. In time, although she would always hold some guilt, she managed to find some enjoyment in life, and eventually, thanks to the love of her family and her joy in being a mother to Edward, she was able to live again. But if she was reminded of Cynthia, grief and regret flooded her, so she and her beloved Ed avoided talking about her special baby sister and the events that led to her tragic demise.

**End Flashback.**

-cc-

The next morning, Carlisle and Esme came downstairs to the kitchen to find a very happy Edward and Bella, kissing, giggling and being a little handsy with each other as they stirred pancake batter; Elizabeth's engagement ring graced Bella's left ring finger.

"Well, you both look happy!" Bella blushed deeply at Carlisle's comment.

"Yes. We are!" Edward replied.

Jasper and Alice padded in a moment later, each carrying a pyjama-clad little boy.

"Boys, did you wake Jasper and Alice up?" Bella asked. "I told you not to!"

"Sorries, Ma! I wanteds to show Lissy ands Japsta my picture!" Ned said, waving around a piece of paper with crayon-scribble on it.

"And I wanted Jasper to play football with us! He didn't play yesterday!" Leo added.

"We didn't mind, honestly. We were up reading the newspaper." Jasper said.

"I'm glad you're all up, actually, because Bella and I have decided something." Edward gestured for everyone to sit down.

"What?" Alice asked.

"We can't wait to get married. So we're not going to."

"Sorry?"

"We decided that we didn't want to go back to London and organise a wedding. So we're going to follow your example and get married at Gretna Green tomorrow, and we'd like you all to come." Bella explained.

"Tomorrow?" As in, 24 hours from now?" Alice checked.

"Yes. We rang a couple of Gretna venues first thing this morning, and one has a slot free tomorrow afternoon at 2.30. We're going to get married then, have a slap-up champagne afternoon tea, come back to the cottage and get on with Christmas." Edward said.

"But what about your parents Bella? Charlie and Sue would love to be there too!" Esme asked.

"They're free and are coming over tomorrow. They think we're crazy but said that they wouldn't miss it."

"What about Rosie and Lottie?" Alice asked. "And your brother and sister?"

"Rosalie and Emmett, and Charlotte and Pete, are coming up from Manchester too, with Leah and Jake, Seth and Rebecca and Emily and Sam. They are all going to be there."

"What about a dress?" Alice pressed excitedly.

"Fancy a shopping trip to Kendal?"

-cc-

The next afternoon, Christmas Eve, Cullens and Clearwater Swans gathered in the small old coaching inn at Gretna Green where Alice and Jasper had married just three days earlier.

Bella had found a floor length dark blue gown with a matching jacket and a cream coloured cashmere wrap. Edward was wearing a dark grey suit with a cream shirt and dark blue tie. Alice, as matron of honour, was going to wear her wedding dress again, but this time added a dark blue ribbon around her waist and partnered it with a grey coat.

"You OK, Dad?" Alice had popped her head round the door of the small room where Edward was waiting with Carlisle who was acting as his best man.

"Yeah, how's Bella?"

"She's great. She's going to be ready in about fifteen minutes. Charlie wanted some time with her alone so I left them to it."

"And the boys?"

"They're sitting with 'Grauntie' 'Smay in the front row! The registrar is making funny faces at them, so they're entertained."

"Great. You look beautiful by the way, princess. New dress?"

Alice looked down at the ground sheepishly.

"Err, yeah."

"Alice, is this the dress you wore when you and Jasper got married?" Edward asked, correctly reading her facial expression. Alice looked up and brushed away a tear of guilt and regret before nodding. "It's stunning, princess."

"Thank you, Daddy."

Edward suddenly had an idea.

"Alice, I'd like you to just come with me a minute. Uncle Carlisle, I'll be back shortly."

"OK."

Fifteen minutes later, the doors to the ceremony room opened and Pachelbel's Canon in D started playing. Edward entered first, with Alice on his arm. When they got to the end, Edward gave Alice's hand to Jasper, who was standing next to his father. They moved to stand on the left. Edward stood on the right and then looked back to the doors of the room where Bella was starting to walk in. He could hardly breathe as they walked towards him. Just one day earlier he had been preparing himself to expect Bella to say no to his proposal for the umpteenth time; now here he was watching her walk towards him at their wedding.

Bella's heart was thrumming with excitement. She didn't see anybody else's face but Edward's as she made her way towards him on Charlie's arm. When Edward finally took her hand from his future father-in-law's, she trembled with anticipation and with the current of electricity that ran through her every time her skin touched his.

"Angel, I didn't tell you before but you look... breathtaking!"

"Right back at you, baby!"

"Yous ready?" The registrar asked.

"Yes sir." Edward replied. "Bella?"

"I'm ready." She turned to Edward. "Sorry I made you wait."

"Six joyous years, three happy children... what an amazing way to wait." He murmured.

They beamed at each other and resisted the urge to kiss, before turning back to the registrar.

"We are gathered here today to witness the marriage of Edward to Bella, and the reaffirmation of vows between Jasper and Alice..."

-cc-

Edward and Bella decided to have a proper month-long honeymoon at Easter, to Australia, after Bella's work at Volturi Industries was over for the year and the financial year had drawn to a close. Edward had never been, and wanted to change the association he held between the country and his parents' death by making new, happy memories of the place. They planned to take Leo and Ned with them, as they could not bear to be apart from their sons for any longer than a night or two. They offered to take Alice and Jasper too, but Jasper would be in the midst of midterm exams at medical school, and Alice would be in training for the Royal Ballet's late spring run of Giselle, and she was determined to get a solo. Instead, they planned to go to Paris and Brussels in the New Year for a week before Alice's return to training.

However, Carlisle and Esme were determined that Edward and Bella should have some time alone after getting married and so booked them into an exclusive 5* hotel nearby for a night's mini-moon between Christmas and New Year, whilst offering themselves up for babysitting duty. They would not take no for an answer, so four days after their wedding, Bella and Edward found themselves checking into their luxury suite.

"Wow, it's gorgeous!" Bella exclaimed as they entered the suite. She made her way to the floor-to-ceiling window, which overlooked a deer park and ancient forest. "Look, there's deer!" Edward didn't answer. He merely took in his wife's lithe, curvaceous form from his position just inside the suite. Bella turned round and her breath caught in her throat as she took in the predatory look in her husband's eye. _Wow. He's looking at me like I'm prey. Like I'm one of those deer and he's the hunter._

"Bella, my darling _wife,_ the deer are lovely, but you are lovelier."

"I am?"

"You are. At least I think you are, _Mrs Cullen_. It's hard to tell when you're wearing so many clothes."

"You think I should... lose the clothes?"

"I do."

"Right here?"

"Right here, right now, Isabella _Cullen_. Strip."

Bella kept her eyes focussed on her husband as she shed her coat, and slowly undid her pale grey angora ballet cardigan. Her white camisole swiftly came over her head and landed on the floor, revealing her breasts, encased in elegant silver satin.

"I think I need a little help, Mr Cullen. Do you think you could come over here?" Bella said coquettishly, sitting down in a nearby armchair and indicating her black knee-high boots. "Maybe help me with the zips?"

"Well, I guess it is my duty as your husband." Edward dumped his coat, walked over, as fast as the rock hard erection straining against his jeans would let him. He knelt in front of her and eased the boots off her long, coltish legs. Bella started to get impatient and began unbuttoning her denim skirt. She got the first three buttons undone before Edward's impatience took over and he yanked the skirt down her hips in one swift movement.

"Keen, baby?" She leaned forward, fisted his wild auburn hair in her hands and kissed him hard.

"Fucking hell, yes!" He encircled her waist with his arms and pulled her towards him, out of the chair. They fell backwards onto the thick pile rug behind them. Edward pulled off his shirt before rolling Bella onto her back and feasting on her neck. "Angel, you taste even more delicious now you're my wife!"

"God, Edward! You feel even better now you're my husband!" Bella cried as Edward removed her bra and cupped her large tits in his hands. "I need you baby! Now! Please!"

Edward picked up her left hand and pressed his lips to her wedding ring, a simple white gold band.

"Your wish is my command, my love. Forever."

It took no time at all for Edward to lose his jeans and boots, and for him to make sure Bella's silver satin thong was lost. He hovered above her and his hard cock stroked against her wet, slick heat.

"Forever, Edward. Always." She murmured, tilting her hips into his.

He brushed her hair away from her face. Her eyes fluttered closed with the rush of sensation his body heat against her skin and the feel of his fingers stroking the sides of her face. Edward kissed her closed eyelids, her cheeks, the tip of her nose, and finally, her lips. As his tongue probed deeper into her mouth, he slid up inside her welcoming body.

They continued to kiss and let their hands roam as they moved together. Their lovemaking was a well-practised dance after six years, and yet Bella and Edward always found some new way to find pleasure and excitement from each other's bodies, when they wanted to. However, sometimes, they simply wanted to be as one in each other's arms and truly feel.

Bella's legs curled up around Edward and she pressed her heels into his firm ass, driving him deeper inside her. He placed one hand on her pubis and tipped his finger just inside her slit in order to tease and tickle her clitoris. She cried out at the dual sensation of him inside her and his fingers at her nub. She squeezed her muscles around him and pressed her delicate hands into his back.

Edward groaned and sped up his thrusts. Bella moved with him, and covered his hand at her clit with her own, making him press harder and faster until the sharp sparks of arousal deep inside her burst into flames and her orgasm ripped through her. He soon followed with his own explosive release, filling her with his hot seed before falling into her waiting arms.

They lay together on the rug quietly for a while, watching the deer scamper and play in the distant forest. When the sun had set, they moved to the bathroom where they set up a candlelit bubble bath in the giant tub.

"Edward, I want to run an idea past you." Bella began, once they were settled in.

"What's that, angel?"

Bella took a deep breath.

"Another baby?" She turned round to face him. "It's just an idea. I'm perfectly happy with just our little boys, but I don't know... I had this dream last night, where we had baby girls as well as Leo and Ned. One looked just like you and one looked like me. It was amazing. They were as beautiful as Alice, and they made our lives complete."

Edward didn't hesitate.

"Yes! Definitely! Being a parent with you is the best thing in the world! I'd love to do it all over again!"

"Really?"

Edward nodded and beamed at his wife. Bella squealed and launched herself into his arms, extinguishing all but the most distant candles with the splash, plunging the bathroom into near-darkness.

"Oops!"

"Never mind! It's more atmospheric this way!" Edward replied before kissing her. "Were they twins in the dream? The baby girls?"

"I don't know. Wouldn't surprise me though, given the family history."

"What, because of Rosalie and Charlotte? I think twins are inherited from the mother, my love."

"No, because of Mum and Jessica." Bella replied, confused. "Did you not know?"

"Know what?"

"My mother was a twin. She had a twin sister called Jane, who died when they were eleven, of a brain tumour. Hence Jessica's middle name- Jane."

"Shit. I never knew that. Neither ever told me. But wait, you said Jessica too?"

"Jessica had a twin brother, called Alec. He was stillborn. Mum was devastated apparently. She got really bad postnatal depression."

"Wow. Maybe that's why she was such a distant mother." Edward wondered. "And why Jessica was such a midget!"

"Maybe!"

"Unlike you. You're the best mother in the world, angel."

"Only because you're the best father in the world. If our Leo and Ned grow up to be even half as well-adjusted as Alice, I'll be happy."

Edward kissed her, and relaxed back in the tub. Bella curled into his side.

"So, Mrs Cullen... seeing as we've got just one night here, why don't we start the baby-making, right now?" He suggested, nipping her shoulder lightly.

"Just one night here..." she ran her hand up his thigh under the water. "...but countless nights of joy to come."

_Fin_

-cc-


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello everyone! Thank you so much for all your support! Hello to all my new followers! I've hit 1000+ reviews! Yay! I never ever imagined that I would get so many! Thank you x 1 zillion!**

**This is the promised future-take. For all of those wondering about Jessica and Marcus, this might explain some things. **

**Disclaimer: The Twilight series and its original characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them for a while, making them British and making them do naughty things! This plot belongs to me, British-isms and all.**

**-cc-**

**Just One Night**

**Chapter 22**

**Future-Take**

Jessica had married Marcus Volturi because he was rich, generous and would keep her in a lifestyle that she craved. She had found him fairly attractive, for guy fifteen years her senior, but that was a bonus. The one reason for which she had not married him was love. As she knelt by his gravestone, changing the flowers- her weekly routine since his death two months earlier- she considered the irony of falling so deeply in love with the man she had, at one time, intended to use for his money for as long as she could.

Loneliness pierced her soul. She would give back every penny of the fortune she had inherited following Marcus's death for just one more day with him.

_So this is what a broken heart feels like. Funny, there was a time when it seemed like I didn't have one. _

**Flashback- twenty years ago (the day Jessica's divorce from Edward came through):**

Jessica was tired, exhausted and furious. She had no husband, no boyfriend, no home, and had talked herself out of £50 grand and alimony. _Where has all my luck gone? _She walked along the River Thames and considered her options. She could go find Mike in Singapore, and hope that she wasn't too late to stop him from hooking up from some Far Eastern nymph. Or... she could take a risk and try to charm the pants off- and the money out of- Marcus Volturi.

That evening, after Jessica had decamped to a Holiday Inn and got dressed up, she ventured out to meet Marcus in the bar of his hotel, The Goring, an old-school luxury London hotel near Buckingham Palace. She ended up arriving early so ducked into the ladies' room to check her appearance. Whilst there she decided to do a bit of research, so she picked up her phone and pulled up Google to search for Marcus Volturi. As well as the homepage for Volturi Industries, a few pictures of him came up. She then clicked on the News tab.

_Marcus Volturi donates $1 million to cancer charity:_

_Billionaire Marcus Volturi, co-founder and Chief Financial Officer of Palo Alto's biggest employer, Volturi Industries, donated $1 million to local charity California Cancer Care at their Black Tie Spring Gala last night, in the name of his late wife Didyme, who succumbed to breast cancer last year..._

Jessica suddenly felt lucky again. _Not a millionaire, but a billionaire. And a widower. No ex-wife hanging around_. She picked up a tissue, wiped away her red lipstick and replaced it with pink gloss. She tied her loose shoulder-length blonde waves into a ponytail. She adjusted the neckline of her grey chiffon dress so it wasn't quite so low, and put on her cardigan. Lastly she took off all her jewellery, except the small St. Christopher pendant that her father had given her. She needed to look sweet and approachable. In the bottom of her purse, which Jessica had borrowed from Alice months and months earlier and not returned, she found a sample sized spray bottle of Thierry Mugler's Angel perfume, Alice's favourite. It was heavy on the vanilla, which Jessica usually hated, but it conveyed innocence and sweetness, the effect she was going for.

_Marcus Volturi, meet the future second Mrs Volturi._

She strode into the bar confidently, where Marcus was stood at the bar itself. She went to stand next to him and cleared her throat subtly.

"Jessica! You look beautiful!" Marcus exclaimed.

"Thank you Marcus. It's not true, but you're always so sweet to me."

"Of course it's true! Now what would you like to drink?"

"Um... a Dark and Stormy please." She said in a quiet voice. Marcus signalled the bartender.

"Sir?"

"A Tom Collins and a Dark and Stormy for the lady please."

Once they had their drinks, Marcus and Jessica went to sit down in one of the elegant seating areas. Jessica decided to remain quiet, to let him do more talking.

"Enjoying it?" Marcus asked after a minute, gesturing towards her drink.

"I chose it because it reflected my mood. It's OK." She replied.

"Your mood, or the drink?" Marcus asked. "Sorry that was forward of me." She smiled at him from under her lashes.

"It was, but I'm OK with people being forward." He smiled back at her. She seemed to him an enchanting little thing. So delicate. "I'm sorry I'm not so lively this evening."

"I had noticed. Is everything all right?"

"It's been a rather difficult day actually. You see, I was married, but my divorce came through today..." Jessica told him a tale of woe, of her emotionally distant ex-husband who bamboozled her out of alimony, stole her daughter and ran off with her sister.

"Oh, Jessica! How awful! You poor thing. And you're now all alone?"

"Yes. I don't really know what I'm going to do. I spent some time with my mother and Phil in California, but I'm a thirty-six year old woman. I can't move in with my mother! And London holds so many painful memories. It's such a difficult place to be when you're alone."

Marcus felt his heart go out to her. He held out his hand. Jessica touched her palm to his, and Marcus brought her hand to his lips.

"I think that our meeting was meant to be, Jessica." He breathed. Jessica fluttered her eyelashes in response and smiled sweetly before placing her hand on his knee lightly. "I think we could make each other happy, if you'd let me look after you."

"Oh Marcus, I completely agree."

**End flashback.**

Marcus had taught her kindness, compassion and responsibility; she had tried to walk all over him when they first got married, but he had been firm and strict without being punitive. He had made it clear that although he would never shout at her, yell at her or hit her, he was the one in charge.

When Jessica found out that her new husband's most esteemed business colleague was none other than her estranged sister, tried to insist that Marcus cease all dealings with Bella. Marcus told her calmly that he didn't care about any family disputes; his home life was one thing, but business was business, and contracting Isabella Swan and CSC Financial Services to run his company's yearly financial review was the best thing he'd done for the company in ten years. Jessica was furious but Marcus was resolute, and Jessica found herself losing against his iron will.

Whereas Edward, when married to Jessica, had responded to her apathy and disdain for responsibility by trying to give her things he thought she wanted and capture her attention, Marcus absolutely refused to entertain any tantrums. He found out the truth about Jessica's infidelity to Edward, and of her making a pass at Phil from Renee, and was determined that he would not be shown up or embarrassed in the same way. So even though part of him wanted to spoil her and make her happy, he also saw that Jessica needed discipline and boundaries.

If Jessica yelled at Marcus, he turned his back on her and walked away. If she disappeared off on a shopping trip or to a spa without telling him, he called her once. If she didn't call back to tell him where she was, he recalled her driver, changed the code to the electronic gates of their property and refused to let her in until she apologised. When he saw her flirting outrageously with a younger colleague, he reminded her that he loved her unconditionally, but that did not mean that he would tolerate being humiliated, and that he would not hesitate to kick her out with no money if she did not stop acting like a petulant teenager.

Jessica had been desperate to live the life of luxury associated with Marcus, so she agreed to sign a legally binding prenuptial agreement, despite being so burnt by the one she'd signed when she married Edward. Marcus would not marry her without it, and being Catholic, would not have her live in his house unless they were married either. The prenuptial agreement stated that Marcus could ask her to leave with minimal alimony if her behaviour did not reflect her status as the wife of one of California's most eminent businessmen.

Jessica, always one for taking the path of least resistance, soon realised that this path was actually to trust Marcus. He listened as she talked about her father Corin and about his love for her but also his indulgence of her whims. She told him about her anger at her mother and about growing up feeling like part of her was missing, which with Marcus's help and the help of a psychotherapist, she realised was, in large part, also down to the loss of her twin brother Alec at birth. Slowly the innate emptiness inside her dissipated, and was replaced with love, honour and respect for her husband during their twenty years together, and their nineteen years of marriage.

Marcus strongly encouraged Jessica to make contact with Alice again, but she didn't. For the first few years she remained very angry that Alice had so clearly favoured Edward. However, as she developed a better understanding of herself and admitted to herself, Marcus, Renee and Phil, that her past behaviour had been abominable, she felt so very guilty at how badly she had treated her only child. She decided Alice, who was thriving and happy in London, would be better off without her and kept her regret inside, allowing it to burn and sear her soul instead.

Jessica apologised to Renee and Phil for her behaviour, and they agreed that whilst things would never be the same again, they could stay on friendly terms. Jessica never asked the same of Renee. With the help of her therapist, she realised that Renee would never be able to admit her huge parenting mistakes. To do so would mean she would have to face the loss of Alec, something Renee was utterly incapable of doing without having a complete breakdown.

-cc-

When she was finished at Marcus's grave, Jessica brushed down her simple black dress and walked to the parking lot of the cemetery where her car and driver were waiting for her. When they got back to the house, a spectacular mansion tucked into the North Californian hillside near Santa Cruz, overlooking Monterey Bay, she was greeted by her housekeeper, Mrs Jones.

"We managed to get the magazine you asked for, Mrs Volturi. I've placed it in your afternoon casual sitting room along with your tea and your usual stationery."

"Thank you Mrs Jones. Was it difficult to get hold of?"

"Afton managed to acquire a copy from a vendor in San Francisco."

"Please convey my gratitude to him? I could have read it online but there's something nice about reading a paper copy, don't you think?"

"Yes, Mrs Volturi."

Jessica went into the sitting room, kicked off her heels and poured herself some tea, before picking up the glossy imported magazine she had asked her staff to acquire.

_Harper's Bazaar: UK Edition_

On the front cover was Alice, dressed in a spectacular black feathered and diamond-encrusted costume, pouting at the camera.

'_EXCLUSIVE! Alice Cullen: Tiaras, Ticking Clocks and Home Truths. The Royal Ballet's Lead Principal Dancer opens up to Harper's Bazaar UK._

Jessica flicked through the magazine straight to the article.

**Alice Cullen: Tiaras, Ticking Clocks and Home Truths**

_By Maggie Burwell, Features Editor._

Alice Cullen's arrival for our interview over afternoon tea in the Garden Room at London's 5* Athenaeum Hotel is marked by the gasps and revered whispers of guests and staff alike. A little girl of five pushes past the security guards and tugs on Mrs Cullen's grey Philip Lim winter cape. In a demonstration of the warmth and grace for which she is famous, she swoops down so that she is eye level with the child, who shyly asks her for a photograph. Mrs Cullen obliges, and then asks her assistant to take one of her with the little girl on her iPhone.

Alice Cullen, 34, has been Lead Principal Dancer at the Royal Ballet for eight years. She became a household name two years later when she took on the lead role in _The Dance of Death,_ Steven Soderbergh's critically acclaimed, highly stylised thriller about a ballet dancer who refuses to believe that the death of her mentor was accidental. An Academy Award nomination and worldwide recognition followed. Yet it has remained Mrs Cullen's only acting role to date. In this frank and revealing interview, she opens up to _Harper's Bazaar UK_ about her life and her future.

MB: Good afternoon, Mrs Cullen. I must say, I was surprised that you asked for the interview to be conducted over such a rich afternoon tea. It's so decadent!

_A waiter brings round a selection of delicate finger sandwiches and a huge teapot of Orange Pekoe tea. Alice doesn't stand on ceremony and, not waiting for the waiter to do it, pours us both cups of the fragrant beverage._

AC: Please, call me Alice. I'm not really into formality when it comes to these interview things! And as for the venue, who doesn't love afternoon tea? This place does one of the best in London. Scrummy sandwiches, fluffy scones, and amazing cakes! Yum!

MB: I guess I expected you, as a ballet dancer, to be very careful of what you eat.

AC: Food is a pleasure and food is fuel. I balance treats like this afternoon tea with healthy balanced meals. But I never, ever miss meals. It's a sure-fire way to perform sub-optimally. Not to mention that my mother would kill me!

MB: By 'mother' you mean... Bella Cullen? The entrepreneur? MD of the award-winning Clear Swan cafe chain and of CSC Financial Services?

**Photograph 1: Alice with Bella Cullen (50), at the Business Enterprise Awards, where the latter won 'Woman of the Year,' and her father Edward (56), acclaimed composer and MD of Green Park Music, the largest online retailer of musical instruments in Europe. **

AC: Yes. She is technically my stepmother, but she's most definitely my mother in the ways that count. She's been my biggest supporter and fan over the past twenty years.

MB: But biologically, Bella Cullen is your aunt.

_Alice shifts in her chair, and tugs at her hair, currently its natural colour of strawberry-blonde, clearly a sensitive topic._

AC: Yes. She's my biological mother's half-sister. She and my father fell in love just as my parents' marriage hit the rocks.

MB: Do you have any contact with your biological mother, Jessica Volturi?

AC: No. _Alice shakes her head sadly. _She lives in California. She hasn't spoken to me since the day she and my father divorced when I was fourteen.

MB: Were you aware that your stepfather, Marcus Volturi _(co-founder and CFO of multinational software manufacturing giants Volturi Industries)_, passed away recently after a massive stroke?

AC: Yes. Volturi Industries, and Marcus in particular, were business associates of one of our family companies, CSC Financial Services, and a card of condolence was sent. _She crosses her arms and shrinks into her chair. _Look, I'd really rather not talk about Jessica.

MB: Very well. Tell me more about Bella and your father Edward.

_Alice's face lights up again._

AC: She and my father are still madly in love, after twenty years together. They are great role models. They always manage to find a positive in every negative. Mama B- that's what I call Bella- she is the most nurturing person I know. And Dad, he taught me about taking pride in what you do, about giving your endeavours 100% and about never giving up on dreams, whether they're big or small.

MB: Do you manage to see them often?

_Alice laughs._

AC: Jasper and I bought the house next door three years ago so I see them all the time! My brothers and sisters spend as much time in my house as they do in theirs!

**Photograph 2: Alice with her husband Jasper, parents Edward and Bella, and her siblings (l-r) Leo (20), Edward Jr. (Ned) (18), and twins Susanna Marie and Sophia Claire (14) at the Green Park Proms, the annual charity music event sponsored by The Cullen Family Arts Foundation. The Cullen Family Arts Foundation, a charitable organisation founded by Edward and Bella Cullen three years ago, is fronted by Alice and her pianist brother Leo.**

MB: Your younger siblings are already quite the achievers themselves.

AC: Yes, Leo won the Leeds International Piano Competition last year, which of course got him instant recognition. He's currently doing a year-long worldwide circuit of recitals and performances. Ned's taking a year out from education to work on his charity donations apps business, the one he won the Princes' Trust award for, and to intern at CSC. And he's got a place at Cambridge next year to read mathematics.

MB: Wow. Talented boys. And so good-looking.

AC: _She grins widely. _They are indeed. The family phrase for them is 'The Handsome Little Heartbreakers', although they're both 6'2" like Dad, so they're not so little anymore! I'm so proud of them, and of my little sisters. Susie's probably going to go to medical school. Sophia's a very talented cook and baker, like Mama B, but if she doesn't do that, she wants to be a lawyer.

MB: They are beautiful girls. I'm surprised they're not models. Susanna's milky skin, green eyes, that wild auburn mane and those high cheekbones- she's like a young Lily Cole. And Sophia, with those deep dark eyes and long dark tresses- she almost looks like a pale Cleopatra.

AC: They would be very flattered to be described that way! I'll have to text them later to tell them! Seriously though, they've been approached a few times by scouts but they're not interested. Even if they were, my parents would never let them enter such a chaotic industry until they were at least eighteen.

_The waiter clears our sandwich plates and brings round the fluffiest scones I've ever seen, along with lavender jam and Devon clotted cream. _

MB: Your husband Jasper is a doctor, a psychiatrist at London's Maudsley Hospital. Between his long hours and yours, how do you make time to see each other?

AC: We just do. We've gotten very good at it in the fifteen years we've been married. It's lucky that we're both very organised and we have a PA, Quil, who's fab. There are times when my work has taken me away, and Jasper's taken sabbaticals or time out in order to be with me. There are also times when I've taken a break from my career path and followed him.

MB: Is it true that you auditioned for _The Dance of Death_ just to kill some time whilst your husband was in New York doing a fellowship at Columbia?

AC: Actually, yes! It was a huge opportunity for my husband in their Psychiatry department. He just had to take it, but I couldn't be apart from him for more than a couple of days, let alone a year. So I took a sabbatical from The Royal Ballet and went with him. I got bored though, so when I heard about the auditions in Manhattan, I thought I could just do a bit of background dancing. But I got talking to Steven (Soderbergh) at the coffee cart and he asked me to audition for an acting role. I did just for a laugh! I never in a million years thought he'd give me the lead!

**Photograph 3: Alice Cullen as Cecily Slade in **_**The Dance of Death. **_**The famous tiara from Asprey that features in the movie was worth £12 million and featured a rare canary-yellow diamond.**

MB: Have you not been tempted to act again? Surely after the Oscar nomination, the offers must have come flooding in?

AC: I had a few, yes. But I am, first and foremost, a ballet dancer. It was an interesting foray, but acting is far harder work than dance in some ways.

MB: How so?

AC: As a dancer, you learn the choreography and you use the music to guide the emotions that you put into the part. As an actor, however, you don't have any such guide. You have to really work hard to draw out the emotion from within you, to put yourself in the situation of the character and then create the role. Charlotte, Jasper's sister, who used to be an actress, helped me loads but I still found that aspect of creating Cecily Slade the hardest.

MB: So we aren't going to see you treading the boards or gracing Hollywood anytime soon.

AC: Nope.

MB: Not even to wear such beautiful jewellery again?

AC: God, I hated that bloody tiara! It weighed a ton!

MB: So there's no truth in the rumour that Asprey gave you the tiara as a gift at the wrap party?

_Alice guffaws out loud, coughing on a bit of scone in the process._

AC: Absolutely not! I have no idea what they did with it, but I certainly didn't get it! It's probably been sold to a private buyer. Besides, I would never have chosen a yellow diamond. It's so not my colour!

_She twists her engagement ring absent-mindedly. It is beautiful- an amethyst surrounded by baguette-shaped sparkling white diamonds, set in gold._

MB: The last Lead Principal Dancer of the Royal Ballet with as high a profile as you was Darcey Bussell. She retired from ballet at age thirty-seven. When do you see yourself retiring?

AC: Good question and the answer is, I don't know. I always thought that I would retire around the age thirty-two if I didn't make Lead Principal. Of course, I did, at twenty-six, so then I thought I'd retire when I had children. And then that didn't happen either!

MB: If you do retire, how do you think you would spend your time?

AC: I know exactly what I'd do. _She claps excitedly. _I would set up a dance school for kids from less advantaged backgrounds.

MB: Wow. That's ambitious.

AC: Well, it needs to be. Ballet has this image of being expensive and elitist. And it's not entirely without basis. Ballet's losing out to other forms of dance because it seems so inaccessible. There's a whole pool of talent out there that we are missing out on.

**Photograph 4: Alice and Jasper Cullen with their twins, Isaac Carlisle and Kristen Esme, age two, taken by Steven Soderbergh, now a family friend of the Cullens.**

MB: Your children are adorable. Both blond-haired and blue-eyed like their parents.

AC: I know, right! They are pure sunshine, even when they're being little devils. If it wasn't already obvious, twins run in the family! I have twin younger sisters. Jasper has twin older sisters who each have a set of twins, and then we had them too!

MB: Around the time of your Academy Award nomination, the newspapers were full of headlines about the fact that your husband Jasper is your cousin. That must have been incredibly stressful.

_She bristles slightly and doesn't answer for a moment._

AC: Jasper is my second cousin. And yes, it was stressful. Nobody wanted to focus on the fact that we were in a happy, loving, strong relationship, one we'd been in for many years. Instead, they focussed on the fact that we were distantly related and that we had gotten married young, when I was nineteen and he was twenty. The media made some quite hurtful speculations and cast some terrible aspersions.

MB: How did your family react when they found out about your relationship?

AC: They were shocked, unsurprisingly, but once we explained how much in love we were and of our very careful plans for the future, they were supportive. Eventually they were accepting as well. Now, it's a complete non-issue. They defended us fiercely when we were tabloid fodder and we're all closer as a result.

_We pause as a server brings round a fascinating array of perfect, tempting little cakes and tarts._

MB: Rumour has it that you were back on stage dancing three months after giving birth. Is that true?

AC: I was back on stage in Covent Garden within three months, but I started practising and training within six weeks. I danced throughout my pregnancy too, until I was six months' gone and simply too big to continue.

MB: That's dedication.

_She shrugs._

AC: It's what feels natural. I have danced and trained almost every day of my life since I was four years old.

MB: So you didn't feel pressure from The Royal Ballet to get back on stage?

AC: Not really. I probably put the pressure on myself more than they did. There are a lot of very talented dancers out there. I wasn't ready to give up my position. I feel like there's still so much I have left to give.

MB: Do you think that you'll have more children?

AC: Maybe. Maybe not. Right now, Jasper and I have a great work-life balance. We're both very much where we want to be in our careers, and we have enough time to spend with our children. All in all, our lives are pretty great the way they are. But if we do, I think I'd rather do it sooner rather than later. My younger sisters were born on Mama B, Bella's thirty-sixth birthday, and she said that having them then was harder work than when she had my brothers in her late twenties and early thirties.

MB: Alice Cullen, thank you so much for talking to Harper's Bazaar UK and for suggesting this wonderful place as a venue. You're right, the afternoon tea is delicious.

AC: I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for treating me!

Alice kisses me goodbye on both cheeks before grabbing a strawberry tart 'to munch on the way home' and gliding out of the door. I was surprised at her honesty whilst maintaining clear boundaries, floored by her warmth and mesmerised by her elegance. It's certainly going to go down as one of the best- and tastiest- interviews I've ever done.

-cc-

Jessica put down the magazine and sighed to herself.

_My one regret. I could have been part of her life. But instead, I'm an aside that she feels uncomfortable talking about._

_Now I'm all alone. No Marcus. No Alice. Nobody but my staff and this big house._

Jessica picked up the pair of scissors that had been laid out for her and cut the article out of the magazine to stick in the display book she had kept for over ten years, full of articles and pictures of Alice and the rest of the Cullens. Next to the display book was a fountain pen, a pad of expensive vellum notepaper and envelopes. Jessica always asked for them to be laid out, but never used them.

"Mrs Volturi?"

Jessica turned round to see her housekeeper at the door.

"Yes?"

"Sorry to bother you but Nurse Irina is here."

"It's that time again?"

"I'm afraid so."

"I'd better go change then. Please could you show her in to set things up?"

"Yes, Mrs Volturi."

"Oh and Mrs Jones?" The portly housekeeper turned round again. "Do you think you might be able to stay with me?" _Because I have nobody else to ask. Renee can barely remember my name these days._

"Of course."

Four hours later, Nurse Irina detached the empty bag of toxic drugs from the port in Jessica's chest, and Mrs Jones helped her to the bathroom where she heaved and wretched into the toilet, a sign that the chemotherapy was having an effect on her body, keeping the finality of her cancer at bay for just a little longer.

"There, there. Better out than in, Mrs Volturi."

"Please call me Jessica. When I'm like this, I need you to call me Jessica." She choked out before crying out with pain and sorrow and weakness and exhaustion.

"I got you, Jessica. I got you." Mrs Jones held her as she sobbed.

"H-h-help me back to the sitting room?" Mrs Jones duly got her back to her favourite spot on the sofa, and left her to get her some chicken broth.

When she was all cried out, Jessica looked at the notepaper and pen on the coffee table. _Alice. My time is running out. I need to tell her I'm sorry, before it's too late. _Jessica felt a pang and placed her hand on her heart, her fingers automatically finding the angry raised mastectomy scar.

After what seemed like an age, she finally picked up the pen and notepaper for the first time and, with a shaking hand, began to apply the pen to the page.

She wrote the words 'Dear Alice' and then put the pen down, worried about what she was about to do.

_Edward was right. All the money in the world means nothing, without love. I've learnt that the hard way._

She picked the pen up once again.

-cc-

**AN: So... all done. **

**I'm going to be publishing my new story in a week or so. It will be a change of writing style for me, but I hope you'll have a look and let me know what you think. **

**CC xxx**


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